Milk and Chocolate
by ll4ever
Summary: “The grass is always greener on the other side.”In Harry’s case, it always seemed like it was.If only completing the prophecy was as easy as dumping a bucket of soapy water over Voldemort’s head.
1. The Beginning, Well Almost

Milk and Chocolate

by ll4ever

Chapter 1: The Beginning, Well Almost

"Reparo."

Harry glared through narrowed eyes at the slumped dummy in front of him. The slashes that had run through the beaten up dummy quickly disappeared as Harry turned to the window that the Room of Requirement had provided only seconds before, and glanced out.

"_It's getting close to dinner". _Harry decided by the angle of the sun, and the fact that dusk was spreading itself across the sky.

Below, on the lawns beside the lake, he could make out a blurred mass of tousled red hair go shooting after a brown one and a black one. Harry grinned, as best as he could with his incredibly sore jaw, and gazed down at Ron as he fired curses at Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. Undoubtedly, the two best friends had been "studying for their NEWTS" again on Ron. No matter how many times the Head Boy swore that he would kill them if they practiced any more jinxes on him, he had never really reacted.....well until now.

A little distance away, Harry could see Hermione holding out her wand and obviously laughing very hard as she tried to take off the latest charm they had placed on her fellow Head. As she turned slightly, the sun caught the bright Head badge pinned proudly to the front of her robes.

No one had been surprised when she and Ron were made Heads, although several people were surprised when Ron got Quidditch Captain. Most of them felt that Harry should have gotten the position; after all he had been on the team the longest.

They were actually right about Harry getting the position; he had. However, only he and McGonagall knew that he had quietly declined the position and had handed it on to his best mate. Harry felt absolutely no jealousy that his two best friends had been given the important positions; after all, like Dumbledore said at the end of his 5th year, he had too much on his plate already.

Next to Hermione, sitting under one of the great willow trees that were popular resting places by the Lake was another blur of longer red hair. His stomach did a huge flip.

Ginny Weasley.

His previously somewhat upturned mouth almost immediately flipped down. He wasn't normally bad at hiding his emotions for her; his week with Aree during his stay with her mother and her had solved that. No sir, he was no longer the type to go around sticking their elbows in butter. But like she said, the heart could only be stilled and hidden: it would never stop beating. Frowning darkly, he threw himself down onto a chair, which had just appeared, the room obviously sensing his sudden wave of distress.

"_Bloody hell_." he though miserably, and for what seemed like the 15th time that day.

"_You can't have a relationship with anyone right now, especially not Ginny. For god's sake Harry, you have to defeat Voldemort. Imagine if he got hold of Ginny. You'd most likely end up doing some "heroic act"_

At this his frown deepened.

_"And get yourself and maybe others killed." _

For a fleeting second he had a brief image of Sirius falling through the veil.

"_You have to defeat him, no one else but you, and you can't have anyone stand in your way." _

Harry sighed and stood up again. His body reeked of sweat and he knew he was currently too depressed to do any more training. Stretching his fatigued arms, and nearly dying at the overwhelming smell, he silently thanked the Room of Requirement for it's help and left the room.

As soon as he stepped out the wooden door he cast a concealment charm on himself to hide his growing number of bruises and cuts, and a quick deodorizing charm, so he would smell, if possible, a lot better. His friends still didn't know about his training or the prophecy, and he hoped to keep it that way. He knew that telling them about either of those things would just put them in more danger of Voldie and his Death Snackers. Smirking at his grand name for the mass terrorists, he threw on his Invisibility Cloak and headed back toward the Gryffindor common room.

Harry was no longer afraid of Voldemort. Something after the possessing at the Ministry last year had changed something between them. Of course, the prophecy changed his view on the murerer.

No, he was a weapon, and he knew he had to die someday. As long as he defeated Voldemort, he didn't particularly care about death. So far, his only goal was to get over that huge obstacle of defeating the 4th most powerful wizard in the world first. He would worry about the rest of his life later; he had decided that long ago.

For a brief minute, Harry's eyes glazed over. No, that was wrong. He had thought about his future without Voldie, just not often. He didn't want to get his hopes up that he might survive the Last Battle that was sure to happen sometime next year. He smiled slightly as he thought of a red-haired witch who he knew he would make certain would be part of his future. Well, maybe a little more than part...........

His body suddenly came in contact with another muscular body, coming from the opposite direction. Looking up, he saw the narrowed gray eyes of Draco Malfoy. Quickly, he pulled his Invisibility Cloak of his upper body he regarded Draco coolly.

"Malfoy."

Draco regarded him back with the same coolness.

"Potter."

At the same time, they both glanced up and down the corridor. When neither of them saw anyone they turned there eyes back to each other and grinned.

"In here." Harry quickly whispered, pulling Draco into an unused classroom and placing silencing charms and rememberal charms (something he had made up himself which caused anyone, including Dumbledore, to remember something if they came near the room)

Quickly they slapped hands and grinned.

"Long time no see, Drak" Harry smirked up at his former nemesis, knowing how much Draco hated his nickname.

Without waiting a second for scowling, Draco replied, "Long time, Savvy."

Harry didn't find his nickname insulting at all; in fact, he found it rather funny. Savvy was short for Savior, which Draco relentlessly teased Harry that he was. Which, even Harry knew, was true.......

"Saved anyone recently?" Draco inquired, a little to politely.

"Well," Harry said as though in deep thought. "I recently saved some pigeons this morning from hitting the Great Hall's front door."

They both sniggered and leaned back in their chairs.

"So," Draco said suddenly, a spark of mischief in his eyes. "Thinking about the theif when you ran into me?"

"Well, I don't even want to know what guy you were thinking about that caused you to run into me." Retorted Harry.

It was no secret to Harry that Draco was gay, as Draco had admitted it during their 11th day in unconsciousness together.

"I wasn't thinking about a guy. You were under the Invisibility Cloak, dumb ass."

"Right." Harry said, and they both smirked.

"So, you still after Arrow?" Harry asked cheerfully as he conjured a pint of fire whiskey and pored them both glasses full to the brim.

Draco drowned the burning liquid in one loud gulp and grimaced, more from the pain of thinking about Blaise Zambini, or Arrow, than the foulness of the alcohol they were rapidly consuming.

"Yeah. Still thinks I'm a Dark Wizard, though."

Harry nodded understandably. He knew what it was like to have to keep secrets that could change a relationship.

Harry and Draco had been secret friends for a little over a two months now, but they both had managed to keep it a secret from everyone, even Hermione, though she was quite suspicious at the beginning of the year. He had lied, even though it killed him, and told his closest thing to a sister, that he was having extra Occlumency lessons with Snape. She had fallen for it completely, which saved Harry from having to explain a lot.

"I feel for y.........."

Harry felt a brief twinge in his scar.

"Hold on a minute. DA."

Harry knew what the twinge meant. Voldemort was happy, and Harry didn't intend on letting him enjoy anything for very long.

Harry grinned and gave quick thumbs up to Draco.

"Voldie is torturing Muggles, again."

They both grinned.

"Oh, well, we can't have that happening now, can we?" Draco replied, trying very hard, and failing, to hold back his grin.

Harry grinned back, and pulled himself deep into Voldemort's mind. It only took Harry seconds to receive the information that he wanted: who, what, and where.

"Doesn't that guy ever get tired of torturing Muggles? I mean come on, that is so last year!"

Harry and Draco broke into laughter at Harry's last remark, even though it was very true, and the situation was very serious.

"Near your place again?" Drak asked casually shrugging off his robes.

Harry nodded, also depositing his robes on the floor.

"Ready for some Dark Angel's Action?" Drak said, a look of excitement in his eyes.

Harry, once again, nodded.

Savvy and Drak had secretly founded a club, with the two of them as members, called the DA, or Dark Angels. Harry had found it quite amusing that nearly every club he was part of had the initial D.A.

The two of them, unknown to the rest of the wizarding world had been secretly helping out families being tortured by Voldie's Death Munchers for 1 1/2 months. Well, that wasn't quite true. The two of them weren't entirely secret. Everyone knew about them; it would be quite hard to ignore the fact that they had saved thousands of people, but not as their real names. No, they were known as Drak and Savvy.

After repairing an attacked place, they would leave their signature, an entwined picture of a snake and a phoenix, with a sword in the center, up in the sky. The two of them thought themselves geniuses to have invented the sign. In fact, they had loved it so much they had both made ton of merchandise for themselves that had the sign on it, and both had a tattoo of it on opposite shoulders. Of course they thought themselves even greater geniuses when they came up with the incantation, "Chiusoinsuvoisonoscopati" (quite a mouthful) which roughly translated to, "Shut up, you're screwed."

Other than the fact they got to play every kids dream of being "secret agents" the best part about the experience was the fact they were leading the Ministry of Magic on an absolutely crazy goose chase to find out who these amazing men or women, (someone old man of Lankstown insisted the Dark Angel's had "curves". Harry and Draco made no effort to squash these rumors, in fact they thought they were rather funny.), who called themselves the Dark Angels. Of course, now they couldn't go anywhere in public shirtless. Even if they could banish the tattoo, both their well-toned bodies would lead to awkward questions.

Whenever Harry's scar would give a twinge, he would excuse himself from class while sending Draco a quick message to meet him in some deserted classroom. They would then cast doubles of themselves to go back to class so they would not be missed, and Harry would get the information he needed from Voldemort. Then the two of them would disappear to capture more Death Snackers, and would get fantastically drunk afterwards.

Capture, however, never kill or torture with Unforgivables.

Neither Harry nor Draco had enough hate in their bodies to be able to kill someone; even Draco couldn't use Unforgivables. Of course, they had discovered other ways of killing, but neither wanted to inflict the pain it brought on families to have a death of a loved one. Well, there were exceptions. Draco's dad, who was responsible for killing his mum, and Bellatrix Lestrange for Sirius, were some. In other words, people who Harry and Draco had unfinished business with were usually killed for revenge.

Harry nodded, grinning now at Draco and at the same time they snapped their fingers, a strangely echoing sound in the dark room. Immediately, they were dressed in clothes that would make most of the girls at Hogwarts, and possibly some of the boys, swoon.

On their feet, a pair of black dragon skin boots. The black laces were wound around the small brass hooks, giving them a very classy look. Their black leather pants were so tight they should have been outlawed; they had a loose feeling about them, but showed most of the curves form their waists down before flaring slightly after the knees. From the brass zipper and clasp, to the gold plate on the black belt engraved with their sign, everything was exceedingly comfortable.

Farther up, the small outline of the belly rings they had both gotten showed through the seriously tight t-shirts, also black with a their sign, once again, in silver thread embroidered on the back. Over their eyes, a pair of black sunglasses appeared, giving the room a slightly reddish tinge.

Draco knew they were going to be out at dark, but insisted on wearing these glasses, insisting they were part of the "look". Harry's scar had disappeared and Malfoy's dragon pox pockmark that was a little above his eyebrow, shrank until it was no longer distinguishable.

They were meant to look cool, but unknown by their enemies, there were sharp silver knives in little pouches along the inside of the belt, and swords and guns strapped along their legs, hidden by an invisibility charm. Their sunglasses had recently been updated with mirrors, so they could see all around them, and the leather necklace that hung around their necks could turn into a snake, phoenix, or sword depending on where they touched the charm. The fang earring on Draco's right ear, and Harry's left, was a pouch for poison, one touch would automatically send the poison out to the nearest Death Eater.

Harry looked up from admiring how good the clothes felt, to see a smirking Malfoy, and a golden halo above his head. Harry grinned.

"Damn you Malfoy. Do you have to add your feminine touches?"

Draco continued smirking.

"Aww, come on Potter, there cute. And anyway, I'll always be more manlier than you."

Savvy shot him a look.

"You wish. Are you sure you are not really a girl? I mean, "_there cute_"????? Where the hell did that come from?"

Draco glanced at his watch and pretended to be offended.

"Come on Potter, we are going to be late. Oh, and nice butt."

All Harry could do was glare at him before they clasped hands and disappeared, their golden halos falling from their heads and spinning in lazy circles on the stone floor.

_Well, there is my first chapter. The next one will be in Ginny's point of view, and the one following that will be following off where we leave off with Harry and Draco. Don't worry, I'll explain everything later, but you have to keep reading!! I really hope you enjoyed it, and I know there were a lot of spelling mistakes. Feel free to criticize me, I really don't care.......as long as I get some reviews!! This is my first fic and I won't continue here if I don't get some reviews. I might finish my story at home, but will not publish it here. Anyway this story will not be all adventure with Draco and Harry. There is some heavy duty romance coming up.......someday.......which will include lots of snogging, and maybe more wink wink. Plus, the "new Harry Potter" will be revealed soon, most likely in chapter 5 or 7. Trust me, he is VERY amusing. I hope you enjoyed this and I will try to update soon, if you review!!!!! _

_Love from,_

_Lily (Yes, that is my real name!!)_


	2. Waiting For Prince Charming

Milk and Chocolate

by ll4ever

Chapter 2:Waiting for Prince Charming

Ginny Weasley was bored. There was no other word for it. She was bored, and didn't know what to do about it.

For the last hour and a half she had watched a very angry Ron chase Seamus and Dean around while a very tipsy looking Hermione stood lop sided by one of the willow trees, attempting to remove the latest charm and failing dramatically. Ginny seriously didn't think she had ever seen Hermione Granger laugh so hard.

"_Lord, if there were ever two people so meant for each other, it had to be Ron and Hermione." _

With a small sigh, she couldn't help wish again that she were Hermione. Not with Ron, of course, that would be far worse than disgusting, but with someone else. Someone else with impossibly messy hair and green eyes so piercing, she swore that he could read her mind, and her soul.

Sighing hopelessly, Ginny glanced up at the most marvelous castle in all of the land: Hogwarts. She still couldn't quite believe she was here, and that she was going to, yipes, graduate in two more years. Subconsciously she ran her eyes over the buildings peering into the brightly lit windows. There was McGonagall sitting at her desk….....and there was Professor Dumbledore, staring out of some random window. He caught her eye for a moment and she swore for a second through the dusk that he _winked and smiled at her_!!! Shaking her head, she smiled weakly back and darted her eyes to a window a little higher up from the Professors'.

She hadn't noticed this window before. Her eyes widened. What was Harry James Potter doing in that room? She could only see his head, his shaggy mane of black untamable hair flopping around. She could of sworn that he was having Occlumency tonight......and Ginny quickly blinked.

The window was gone.

Sighing to herself again, she frowned.

"_I must have imagined it..."_ she thought sadly and turned back to the romance novel she was reading.

"_Rachelle, my love, I am sorry for all the pain I have caused you..." _

Harry was causing her a lot of pain.....

"_I love you"_

Ginny knew she would most likely die if she ever heard those words come out of Harry's mouth.

"_Please, be mine." _

_As soon as the sentence had left David's mouth, he slowly bent down on Rachelle, and pressed his slightly chapped lips against her soft lush ones. When they broke for air, minutes later, Rachelle looked deep into his eyes. _

"_Forever."_

Ginny slammed the book shut, frustration welling up inside her. Damn, how come her life couldn't be like…..like that? How come Harry couldn't swoop down on her lips?

"_It's not fair_",she decided, frowning.

"_How come everyone seems to be getting the girl/guy they want and my Prince Charming won't even touch me. Even Seamus and.....Dean, I mean they got Lavender and Parvati!!" _

Dean.........Dean and her had never really been dating it; was more of a ploy to piss her brother off, which had worked spectacularly. Dean was simply a friend. Nothing more. Nor would he ever be anything more. Ginny sighed and nearly stabbed herself with her pen.

"_Damn it, I have to stop sighing. I sound like some damsel in distress."_

Ginny grinned to herself.

"Ginerva Marie Weasley, damsel in distress. Locked in a castle, with an evil person guarding it, waiting patiently for the day her Prince Charming would come to rescue her." She whispered softly to herself, and broke out into hysterical giggles. As if.

Ginny stopped laughing abruptly as she caught the cool grey eyes of Draco Malfoy, who had been obviously staring at her from where he was leaning against the stone walls of the Great Hall, over by the door. She caught his gaze and their gazes locked for several moments, before Draco turned and went through the doors into the Great Hall at each other. Ginny's gaze lay for several more moments on the place where Draco had stood, confusion building up inside her.

That wasn't the first time she had caught Draco staring at her with that sort of….sad expression. Almost like he knew something that she didn't.

"_Well,"_ Ginny said to herself consolingly.

"_It isn't like he does. Unless if he knows when the next Death Eater meeting is."_

Ginny snorted at her bad, almost cruel joke, and glance back towards her fellow Gryffindors. Hermione was currently laughing so hard her wand was tipped at a very bad angle in her incredibly wobbly right hand. Ginny sighed, again, and decided sighing wasn't her thing. Instead, she humphed, and fell into crazy giggles mixed in with hiccups.

"_Lord, I must seem really weird. A minute ago I was sighing every 15 seconds, 30 seconds ago I was humphing and now I am giggling!" _

Ginny erupted into more hysterical giggles, barely having enough air to do so, as of the fact that every time she tried to take a breath in, she would hiccup. Slowly, she calmed herself and took a deep breath in. She could tell she was getting sugar low, something that was not good for any of the Weasley family members.

Wincing from the stiffness of her legs, and feeling a bit like an old grandmother, she stood up and yawned.

"Coming, Hermione?"

Hermione was nearly collapsing with laughter as the recently leg-locked Ron lay on the ground, snarling at Seamus and Dean, who were pretending he was some animal at a soo, and cautiously acting out throwing pieces of meat at his slightly crazed looking face.

Well, she thought it was a soo. That place, were Muggles kept all those weird animals, soo, or choo, or something.

Hermione looked up at Ginny, her face flushed, and nodded. Quickly, she applied to Leg-Locking counterjinx to Ron and walked over to Ginny. "You okay?" she asked curiously, her face rapidly loosing some of its red.

Ginny stared down at her old faded blue tennis shoes and humphed again. "Fine, I guess. As fine as anyone could be right now, I suppose."

Hermione looked at her closely, her eyes running over the scars in Ginny's face from playing so roughly with her brothers as a girl, and finally shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess I know what you mean. You want to get some dinner?"

Ginny's stomach gave a particularly loud rumble after Hermione's last sentence and Ginny grinned. "I think so....."

The two girls slowly turned and trudged back to the Great Hall's front doors, and both disappeared back into their own thoughts. Ginny, humphed again, much more quietly than before and considered her Prince Charming. He was good looking, and had definitely buffed out. She couldn't figure out when that had happened, though she suspected that he was just playing harder in Quidditch.

He was the typical Prince Charming; he had the good looks, the brains, the power, the loyalty, and mostly everything else. But for some reason, her Prince Charming hadn't come to rescue her yet.

Ginny's shoulders drooped slightly, though her head remained raised. She didn't know why she continued to dwell on Harry. Well, no, that was wrong; she did know why.

She liked him…………a lot……………

_Chapter Two!!! I hope you enjoyed!! I know, I know, it was kind of short, okay really short. But the next chapters will BE LONG!!!!!! Don't worry…. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and PLEASE UPDATE!!! It means a lot to me :) _

_Love from,_

_Lily_


	3. Memories, and a Rather Strange Battle

Milk and Chocolate

By ll4ever

Chapter 3: Memories, and a Rather Strange Battle

Harry and Draco arrived on Privet Drive looking rather strange. Harry had one of his legs around Draco's midriff, the other wrapped tightly around his neck. Harry's black hair was barely skimming the ground and his arms were wrapped tightly around the other boy's legs. Both were laughing very hard, as neither was quite sure how Harry got himself in that position. Harry had attacked Draco and locked him in a headlock, and then Draco had attempted to flip him over his shoulder. Neither knew what had happened next.

Slowly, tightening his legs grip on Draco, Harry released his hands from Draco's legs and placed them on the ground.

"Ready?" he asked.

Draco's reply was mixed in with a series of chuckles. "Yes."

With that, Harry released his legs from Draco and balanced himself in a handstand. With a short breath of air, he bent his arms, and pushing with all his weight, launched himself into the air. Doing a quick back flip he landed perfectly on his feet, while Draco applauded wildly, and quite sarcastically.

"This way." Harry tilted his head slightly to the right.

Draco nodded then smirked.

"Shall we walk, or make it more interesting. Let's say, loser buys drinks?"

Harry grinned.

"Sure. But let's make it more fun. Loser buys drinks and has to down 20 cups of sugar tomorrow morning."

They both chuckled and took their starting positions. Harry couldn't help but think how amazing it was that the boy standing by his side was the bastard that they had both once known.

"_I can't believe you told those…….those…….things about us." Uncle Vernon raged, his face close to plum color. _

"_And how dare that man with that strange eye threaten me. You should have more respect for the people that have given you food, clothes, and a roof to live under since you were a child. Now get out of my bloody sight!"_

_Uncle Vernon shoved Harry into his room, and slammed the door shut. Harry could hear the unmistakable sound of locks clicking into place and sighed. This summer was going to be worse than he had anticipated. _

_Striding over to his window, he realized that Uncle Vernon had released Hedwig out of her cage and was currently watching her make a quick departure over the high tree tops above Privet Drive. With a jolt, Harry realized that this would be the last time he would see Hedwig over the summer; his window had obviously been bolted and he didn't know any other way she could get into his room. Sighing darkly to himself he settled down on Dudley's old bed. He truly hated the Dursley's sometimes. _

That had been slightly after his departure from King's Cross. It wasn't the first time that he had been locked in his room, nor the first that he had been yelled at. But after Sirius died, everything seemed a lot worse.

_Harry heard as for the second time that day, a bowl was shoved into his room. It was the same, every day. But Harry Potter no longer cared. He had slipped into a deep depression over the last two weeks, and not even food was interesting to him anymore. _

_His body had the definite look of someone who hadn't eaten for a while and his skin had turned a strange sort of yellowish grey. His eyes were bloodshot and had turned grey, almost black in color. The black hair on his head had turned into a bird's nest, but somehow the amount of grease in it had made it lie flat. He looked terrible, and didn't care one bit. _

_His room stunk of sweat and urine; he no longer bothered to get up to go to the bathroom. In his mattress there were small worms wriggling around, and he had fleabites up and down his arms. _

_But Harry Potter didn't care. _

_Everything that was important to him now was gone; his schoolwork, and all of his other connections to the wizarding world were locked in the cupboard downstairs, Hedwig had disappeared, hopefully to the Burrow, and Sirius Black, Padfoot, and Snuffles; the last true parental figure in Harry's life. _

_Every night as soon as he would close his eyes, nightmares of the veil would plague him terribly, until he stopped going to sleep at all. Harry knew the lack of sleep and food was getting to him; he often saw figures in the room he knew weren't really there. His stomach almost hurt constantly, and every time one of the mattress worms bored himself into Harry's skin, an immense pain would shoot through his body. _

_But Harry no longer noticed physical pain; he only felt a deep emotional emptiness where Sirius had once been. Slowly, Harry reached for the photo album sitting beside his slowly rotting bed, and automatically turned to his favorite picture. His parents were sitting on the back of a red convertible, holding hands and looking very much in love. Behind their smiling faces was a carnival, the Ferris wheel spinning lazily high above the other rides. Harry stared blankly at the picture for a moment, then turned it over and slipped it back into its cover. _

_Replacing the album on the bedside table, he picked up the knife that had lay beside his bed for month after he found it in the back of the album. He had used it several times before, oh yes, the scars on his arms showed that. But Harry knew that tonight was the night. He had never fully unsheathed the blade when using it to cut him self, to punish himself for everything that he had fucked up in his life. _

_But tonight was the night. _

_Harry wanted it to be completely through his heart. Slowly, he slid the sheath away from the blade. There was a strange pattern there, but Harry didn't waste time looking at it. As he wrapped his hands around the cold blade, he suddenly felt the all to familiar pull in his stomach. He felt himself spinning wildly, and then collapsing on a bed. Somewhere above him, he heard a voice shout, "He is here!!!" And Harry James Potter blacked out. _

"_Darie are you sure he isn't awake yet?" A smooth female voice sounded by somewhere to his left._

"_I don't know darling." A strong southern drawl and strong scent of cigarettes came from someplace on his left._

_Harry cracked his eyes open. _

"_Ohh, he is awake!!" Harry could barely make out the outline of a young women beaming down at him. Quite suddenly, another face appeared right in front of his. _

"_How ya doin, honey?"_

_Harry felt like crying. His plan didn't work, and he didn't know if he would ever have the courage to try it again. _

"_Bad." He managed out. _

_The elder woman stared down at him, then smiled softly, her bright red lips daintily shifting the cigarette in her mouth over to the corner, so it wiggled slightly while she talked. _

"_Of course ya aren't, darling. Ya parents weren't either."_

_The woman sighed, her skinny face rising and falling. Then, with two bright red fingernails, she reached up and delicately pulled the cigarette out of her mouth._

"_Names Darlene. My daughter is Arintha, though I prefer to call her Aree."_

_Harry realized with a start that she had dropped the Texan drawl while she waved her cigarette around the room._

"_This here is Halbes Weise Land. Aree, darling, could you go make us some sandwiches? "_

_Harry stared at Darlene, while Arintha pouted, and left the room, her hips swaying gently. _

"_Pardon me?"_

_She laughed a strange tinkling sound that chilled Harry. He knew that laugh…..but from where?_

_Several moments passed before she turned back to look at him. Her eyes ran over his face twice before she adverted her eyes to her pale hands._

"_Half way land." She said quietly, avoiding his piercing gaze._

"_What?" He inquired, not sure if he had heard her right._

"_Half way land." She turned to face the window nearby the bed he was laying on, opened her perfectly lined lips, and began to sing._

"_There once was a girl,_

_Who lived in peril, _

_And sang like a sweet westward breeze,_

_She was hated by friends,_

_Destroyed by men,_

_And never could have what she pleased,_

_One day while she traveled,_

_Her hopes now unraveled,_

_Her dreams cast away,_

_Though her body was strong,_

_She inside was gone,_

_And wished no more to live in today._

_As though her thoughts were read,_

_A knife appeared by her head,_

_And she stabbed herself twice in the chest._

_But alas, her time was not right,_

_Though she nearly died of fright,_

_She found a child by her breast_

_When she alas came to rest,_

_She realized she and the babe were dressed,_

_And in a place called Halbes Weise Land _

_They had simply arrived_

_Neither had a clue what to decide_

_For they were in Half way Land_

_They soon found out_

_Their job was to teach and not to doubt_

_Those who accompanied them in Halbes Weise Land"_

_Harry's jaw dropped._

_That song was familiar, and quite silly "Ahh," Darlene said, meeting his gaze steadily now. "I should have known your mother would remember the song and sing it to her own child. Lily had a beautiful voice even if she was singing the stupidest song ever created." _

_Harry was startled. Can she read minds?"_

_Darlene laughed, that same chilling sound and smirked at him, a look he decided definitely fit her. _

"_Darling, no matter what Snape says, the mind is a book to read…..well, if you are me, and several….chosen others."_

"_My parents? Did you know them?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't quite sure what to think of Darlene yet, and he wasn't quite sure if he trusted her._

"_Yes." She said softly, her gaze once again returning to the window. "Your parents both suffered a loss. They both lost their parents, and their two closest child hood friends. It caused them to be……slightly suicidal. Thank god it was my knife they used: otherwise you most likely wouldn't be here today."_

_Harry was quite startled. The idea of his parents……trying to commit suicide was…unnerving. But of course, they had suffered a loss slightly similar to his own, and they were only normal. _

"_They came to learn from me, and they both mastered the art of reading minds. I just wish they had had more time with me. I might have been able to teach them things that might have altered what…..what happened." _

_When Darlene turned back to him, Harry was surprised to he tears trailing down her face, her mascera streaming after them. _

"_You were the lady in the song, weren't you?"_

"_Yes." She replied simply, one of her hands rapidly wiping her cheeks. "Your parents were the best people I never knew. They were…amazing, and so caring. That is why they arranged for me to stay here and wait for you. As much as they loved me, they knew that you were the one who had to save them all."_

_Harry nodded slowly, then glanced up at her. _

"_They made you stay here to wait for me?"_

_Darlene turned her eyes to Harry. "No. I chose on my own will to stay here to wait for you. They only did the arranging."_

"_With who?" _

"_Death."_

_Harry's eyes widened._

"_Of course, that wasn't to hard, seeing as…..well Aree and the Death Prince, were and continue to be quite close."_

_The sound of breaking glass came from the other room as a voice hollered, "MUM!!"_

_Darlene chuckled. _

"_But, we must continue. You only have several months with me, and there is plenty to learn. First, who is your worst enemy that is about your age?"_

_Without pausing, Harry replied, "Draco Malfoy."_

_Darlene nodded then gestured toward his left hand. _

"_Could I have that, please?"_

_Harry realized with a start that he was still holding the knife that had brought him here then wordlessly handed it to her. She stared at it for a second, and Harry realized the marking on the knife was a half tube of lipstick. He grinned._

"_How, fitting."_

_Darlene cracked into a large smile._

"_Well, pardon me. It was the best thing I could think of!!!"_

_They laughed for a second, and Harry realized that he was quite comfortable with this strange woman._

"_Are you really smoking?"_

_Darlene looked at him, amused. _

"_Do you think I would be smoking? No, of course it isn't! It is a shapeshifer candy. Something I invented on my own time." As the last word of the last sentence left her mouth, a large BANG sounded through out the room and a strawberry replaced the cigarette. Darlene chewed on the strawberry happily, and held out her hands to Harry. "Come on, lazy butt. Let's get you out of bed." _

_Harry smiled gratefully; he was barely able to see anything from where he was lying down. However, when he reached for her hands he noticed he was holding on to a pair of hands with a leathery feel to them; quite the opposite to the finely manicured hands he had seen waving around several seconds before. Darlene noticed his confusion. _

"_I am a shape shifter. Did you notice my voice when you first arrived? I can change everything about myself." _

_With that, Darlene pulled Harry up. Releasing his hands, she pulled the knife from her pocket and dropped it. _

_But there was no crashing sound. _

_Looking down, Harry realized the knife had sunk completely through the floor. _

"_It's going to find Draco. He would have come up here, even if you hadn't named him as your partner."_

_Harry's jaw dropped. What? He hadn't named Draco his partner!_

"_He, like you were, is dangerously suicidal. It is obvious that he will attempt to use the knife. Of course, it is neither his nor your time to leave this earth. Naming him as your partner just made my job a lot easier."_

_Harry gaped at her. _

"_But….I…..I didn't……my partner??"_

"_Now, come on. I brought your parents together, didn't I? I mean, they weren't so hard; your mother just thought James was her worst enemy. But I did bring them together. Who knows how long it would've taken them to realize how much they loved each other? One of my jobs is to bring enemies together, to fight against dark forces. Since Draco is your obvious choice, then he is your obvious pair."_

"_BUT I AM NOT GAY??" Harry said, flabbergasted._

"_Of course you aren't!! I never said you were. I just said you guys would be good partners. You're more alike than I think you know, or want to admit!"_

_Harry stared at her, then winced as a large crack thundered throughout the room, and the unmistakable body of Draco Malfoy fell onto the bed beside him. A door swung open and Aree came running into the room, a plate of sandwiches in her hand._

"_Here, mum." She said handing the plate to Darlene, who in turn shoved it into Harry's hands. As she turned to the other bed, she gasped. _

"_Another one? I'll be in the kitchen, making more sandwiches if you need me."_

_Harry grinned at Aree, who winked back and turned on her heel, leaving about as fast as she had arrived. _

_The next two months went by quickly. Harry and Draco slowly grew closer over the weeks, until they were practically inseparable when out of the classroom. Both Harry and Draco's first week together were spent getting to know each other and recovering. The second week, Harry went with Darlene to practice complex spells, while Draco went with Aree to learn to sword fight. The following week they switched and spent nights by the fire listening to stories, and telling some of their own. The week after that was split between dueling with Darlene and learning how to deal with girls, or boys in Draco's case. The following week they switched, and the one after that was dedicated to mind reading, and apparating, disapparating, and several other ways that the boys made up. And so the two months went by quickly, until one morning Darlene announced that it was time for the two of them to go back to the Living. Before they left, she stuffed another one of her knives into each of their pockets before whispering, "Good Luck" and transporting them back. The world was dark again, until Harry awoke a day later in his bedroom. His Aunt and Uncle had not noticed his departure, and he wandlessly packed his clothes, and apparated to Hogwarts. He was the only human on the earth that could do that, even Draco, the second best wizard in the world, couldn't achieve it. And so, his seventh year began._

"Ready? Set? Go!!!" Both boys yelled at the same time and as they leapt into the air, they changed into their first anamagis form.

A black haired wolf, and a clouded leopard took off, streaking toward the Death Mark, before changing, several seconds later, into a falcon and a hawk. Only minutes later, Harry changed into a big black slobbery dog, while Draco changed into a poodle.

When Harry had first seen this transformation, he had laughed for hours, before finally realizing how much it was like Draco.

As they neared their destination, they changed back into themselves, and sprinted as hard as they could for Magnolia Crescent, before Draco turned around and hit Harry with the same tripping jinx he had used in their 5th year. Harry swore loudly, then hopped back to his feet, and glared at a smirking Malfoy, standing next to the street sign.

"Will you ever use a different jinx other than that one? It's gotten so old!!"

"Brother of mine, you still can't deflect it."

Harry swore at Malfoy, who just erupted into laughter, as the two of them headed toward the burning street.

And both of them tensed.

Bodies were littered all over the street, seven houses were completely destroyed, and Death Eaters were everywhere.

"Ready?" Malfoy whispered quietly, quickly altering both Harry's and his features.

"Do you think we can make it quick? The Dragon's Breath isn't open past 12 tonight."

Draco grinned.

"Sure.""

And the two boys charged into battle.

Harry was all too familiar with this job.

Almost lazily, he drawled at the two nearest Death Munchers, "Capentura"

The two Death Eaters looked at him and laughed.

"Is that the best you can do?" the nearest one jeered and they both stepped nearer.

Big mistake.

Immediately, Harry's spell started, wrapping them both in telephone cords, and gagging them with a pair of Dudley's old boxers. Harry stared at the Death Eaters, they stared back, and Harry burst into laughter. Almost immediately he felt a wand on his throat.

"Idiot." Harry muttered, and spun around, his knee catching Dolohov in the crotch. As the man fell down, his body contorted in pain, Harry snarled, "You are lucky I don't kill you. But I think I'll leave that to Ronald Weasley. I believe you hurt his girlfriend."

With a wave of his hand, Dolohov was in the same bindings as the other two, and Harry turned around. Ahhhh, the man of the moment.

"Tom!!! How are you, old fellow? Is your voice holding up okay? Last time I heard you, you had a little sort of hiss. Is that gone now?"

Voldemort turned around, his eyes widening in shock and disapparated.

"Oh, damn you! We could have finished right there! Then……..well………..you ……..Ass hole!"

Harry wasn't really mad that Voldemort wasn't ready to fight. He would have liked to have more than one person on his side when he killed Voldemort.

Savvy stunned 5 death Eaters in front of him, froze the one creeping up behind him, and turned to his right. Well, here was a lady nearly as good as Voldemort. Quickly, he cast some Illusion Charms and Silencing Charms on the area around them. Then, he took of his own Metamorphmagus features, and returned to his old body.

"Bella."

Slowly, as though she already knew who it was, Bellatrix Lestrange turned to him, her face a mask of confusion.

"Ahhhh, potty wee Potter!! Shouldn't we be at school?

Harry absolutely hated her baby voice, but he refused to let it get to him now. He had some serious ass to kick.

"Bella wee Bella. No, I am skipping classes. How's your master? His snake voice gone? I tried to ask him myself, but his half-blooded self disapparated on me."

Making sure she didn't notice, Harry edged closer to her.

"YOU!!! HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY MASTER!!!"

Harry laughed, an almost sick sound from deep in his throat.

"Bella, dear, I am afraid he will not be your master for long. You see, Bella," Harry was nearly close enough to touch her.

"You sent my godfather through the veil. Do you really think I am going to let you get away with that? "

Bellatrix eyes narrowed.

"And what do you plan to do, Potter? I am Bellatrix Lestrange, the Dark Lord's best advisor, and servant."

"Kill you."

Harry slowly reached down, and flipped the robes off of her left arm.

"You, the Dark Lord's best advisor and servant, no longer live. You, the girl who was my Godfather's favorite cousin, the one who fell in love with Severus Snape, you are alive."

With that, Harry delicately touched her skin and steadily pulled the Dark Mark, as though it were a sticker, off of her skin. She gave a shuddering breath, her eyes snapping shut, her body going limp. Harry casually let go of her, and found in his hand a very pretty young woman…. Puppy dog eyes opened, long eye lashes fluttered, and her pale face wrinkled in confusion as she stared at the man holding her by the arm.

"Harry." She whispered, staring up at him, her eyes full of fear and wonder, and slowly bringing a hand up to cup his face. "Why? Why did you do it for me? I……I killed your Godfather, and….and my best childhood friends."

Harry smiled softly at her.

"No, Bella. That wasn't you. Look at yourself, you look no older than 20. In fact, you look the same age as you did when you first got the mark. Voldemort's mark does that; destroy the person you were, and fills the shell left behind with evil and hate. But he couldn't do it completely for you. He couldn't destroy the bond you had with Severus. I once met someone, someone stuck in the middle between life and death. They remember seeing all the people that became Death Eaters passing over, except for 2 of the many I named. You and Severus Snape. Oh, and more recently, Draco Malfoy."

Harry tilted to where Draco was blasting Death Eaters into a large plant that bound them as soon as they landed.

"Draco Malfoy………..is Drak? Since when did he switch sides?"

Harry laughed at her bewilderment.

"Yes. After his father killed his mother, he began reconsidering his life."

Bella stared up at him, the slowly raised her lips and planted two sloppy kisses on his cheeks.

"Thank you."

That was all she said, but it was enough for Harry. He smiled and pulled her too her feet. Taking a small coin out of his pocket, he handed it to her.

"Take this back to Severus' room, okay? I believe you have some serious explaining to do."

Turning, she began to walk away, when Harry realized he had forgotten one thing.

"Oh, and remember, you are no longer Bellatrix Lestrange, you are Bella Black, the woman that Severus Snape loved."

"Maybe, just maybe, Severus Snape will be a lucky man tonight. Oh, and remember, my name isn't Harry Potter, it's Savvy."

She nodded once, then tightened her grip on the coin, and disappeared. Harry sighed sadly, but it felt good to have killed Bellatrix Lestrange. She didn't deserve to live.

Deciding that he better check how Draco was fairing, Harry waved his hand, and he reappeared. Draco was standing near by, glaring at Harry in mock annoyance and tapping his foot while twisting his wand.

"Did you have to leave me with these guys?"

Harry laughed and glanced around at the 32 bodies wrapped in tight bundles around them.

"I dunno, it looks to me like you did a pretty good job here! Let's rebuild the houses, and revive the victims, shall we?

Draco nodded once, and the two of them held up both hands.

"Ricostruzione!!"

Immediately, the burned buildings returned to the white picket fence houses they had been, only hours before, the furniture rebuilt itself, and the street lights came on.

Harry and Draco quickly visited the families who had suffered pain. There were no casualties; the Death Eater's had been having more "fun" than killing, but several of the families had suffered the Cruciatus Curse for long periods of time. The two Dark Angel's gave the victims doses of Cruciatus Remedial Potions, and banished the exhausted families to bed, after wiping their memories. Slowly, Harry turned to Draco, his shirt clutching to his chest, outlining is muscles.

"Ready?"

Draco nodded then broke out in a grin.

"Just make it quick, I need to get drunk and back to the castle before our charms wear off."

Harry grinned back, and the two of them lifted their wands; the force needed for the spell took more energy for wandless magic than it did otherwise, and they were both quite tired.

"Chiusoinsuvoisonoscopati!!!!!"

Almost immediately, a phoenix, sword, and snake leapt into the air, and immediately took their places right above the Death Eater's general area. As the pops of the Aurors apparating began to increase around them, Savvy and Drak turned back to back and waved at the astounded Aurors. Harry could see Tonks through the crowds now, and couldn't help but send a cheery wave in her direction.

"See you around." Harry said, smiling.

He was quite happy that the end of the day was finally approaching.

"We have to go get fantastically drunk!" Draco added, winking at the Aurors closest to him, one of which was Kinglsey Shacklebolt.

With that, Harry and Draco turned back to each other.

"Ready?" Harry breathed.

"As ready as ever." Draco replied, smirking as the two of them placed their hands together, and disappeared. They only had another hour to get drunk, and they weren't going to waste it talking to flabbergasted Aurors.

_Oh, that was fun. Sorry if my descriptions were a little off. Anyway, next 2 chapters will be in Ginny's point of view. I really want to hear from you, so even if you can't review because my stupid computer won't let me receive unsigned reviews, please email me at You have no idea how much reviews help me. Also, if you want to be a little more personal, you can instant message me on my sn lunalovegood4evr_

_Hope u enjoyed!!_

_Love from,_

_Lily_


	4. Strange Observations

Milk and Chocolate

By ll4ever

Chapter 4: Strange Observations

Ginny stared over the rim of her glass at Harry. He seemed oddly…quiet tonight, not like he wasn't usually…but more so tonight.

"Harry?" she whispered quietly, nudging his foot with hers.

He slowly raised his head from where he had been staring at the food, twiddling the fork between his fingers.

"Are you all right?"

He nodded, too mechanically for her taste and smiled.

Okay, there was definitely something wrong.

Ginny had spent enough years Harry gazing to know exactly what he looked like. His left canine had always been slightly chipped, though she doubted that he had ever even looked closely enough at himself to tell that.

And this…thing…. standing in front of her definitely didn't have a crooked tooth. For a second her vision wavered and she hastily blinked, but Harry had closed his mouth now and was getting up.

"I've got some more Occlumency tonight. See you guys."

"See ya Harry." Ron said, his mouth nearly busting with food, before he returned to the argument he had been having with Dean about soccer and Quidditch.

"See you later tonight then, Harry?" Hermione asked, quirking any eyebrow.

He nodded quickly.

"Bye, Harry." Ginny said, a fake smile plastered on her pale freckled face

There was something different about him, other than the fact that his tooth wasn't chipped.

"Bye." He said, before turning on his heel and striding across the Great Hall and out the side doors.

Her shoulders rose and fell as she took in a deep breath of air and let it out quickly. She was probably being paranoid…but she had been so sure…

Her pondering was interrupted by a piece of paper slipping onto her lap. Peering over her shoulder, she saw Parvati bent down, roughly about the height of the bench that Ginny was perched on, looking up at her cautiously. Slowly, she raised her head and breathed quickly in Ginny's ear, "Be there, or be square."

Ginny snorted quietly.

"Nice line." She murmured back.

Parvati laughed under her breath and returned to her knees, before crawling over to the next bunch of Gryffindor girls, consisting of Annie, Robyn, and Meredith; some of the other Gryffindors in Ginny's year.

Flicking her eyes down, and making sure no one was watching, she bent her head slightly so she could see what was written on the front of the envelope.

_To: Virginia Weasley, Gryffindor, 5th year_

Ginny scowled.

"_When would they ever get it right_?" she thought desperately

_From: The Seventh Year Girls_

Ginny cautiously slipped her finger into the envelope and tore it open, even though she had a pretty good idea what it was all about. The Gryffindor girls, over 15 years of age were allowed (more like forced) to attend a monthly meeting in the 7th year girl's dormitory. Hermione had told her about them last year, having had to attend all of the meetings.



_Dear Gryffindor Girls from ages 14-18_

_You have been invited to the Gryffie Girl's Night Up. Tonight, Friday, September 24, the Gryffie girls whom have received this letter will proceed to the 7th year girl's dormitory. You will enjoy pampering and snacks, and ermm…other activities… At midnight, we choose one girl, and an activity she will have to complete within the agreed time range. Anyway, we hope you can come. Otherwise we will come to find you. _

_Love from,_

_Lavender Brown, and Parvati Patil_

_And_

_The Seventh Year Girls_



Ginny stared at the letter, and burst into laughter.

"_We will come to find you?" _

She could just see Parvati in a black overcoat, inching along the wall toward Hermione, who was pleasantly reading in the library, before pouncing on her and dragging her to their dorm room.

Ginny looked up at Hermione to see if she had gotten her letter. Lavender was putting on quite a show as she leaned across Seamus, her breasts skimming lightly across his chest, to hand Hermione her letter, while giving Seamus a good view of her legs and her cleavage, depending which way he looked. Of couse, Seamus being the raging hormone boy that he was chose the second one.

She couldn't help but laugh as Lavender straightened up again, right as Seamus had stretched forward to see down her shirt, while giving him a saucy smile and turning on her heel, her hips swinging as walked away. After she reached the Ravenclaw table, she turned to a still entranced Seamus and blew him a kiss, her bright red lips puckered up perfectly.

Laughing to herself, she watched as Seamus quickly pulled his robes over his lap, his face bright red, and tried to resume his conversation with Dean, casting cautious looks down to between his legs. Ginny distinctly saw Dean lean over and whisper something in Seamus' ear, which earned him both a hard whack on the shoulder and a deeper blush from Seamus.

Ginny returned her gaze back to the meal sitting in front of her and began eating. It was only several seconds she heard footsteps behind her.

"So, you got the letter." A dry, female, voice said as the owner slipped onto the bench she was sitting on.

Hermione leaned toward her, and asked quietly, "Change letters? I want to see if the bimbos wrote the same thing on yours that they did on mine."

Ginny eagerly accepted, shoving her letter into Hermione's hands and grabbing the other.



_Dear Hermione,_

_Come tonight. Or else…_

_Love from,_

_Lavender Brown, and Parvati Patil_

_And_

_The Seventh Year Girls_



Ginny burst into a new round of giggles. Hermione glared at her disdainfully.

"Glad someone finds it funny."

Ginny shook her head, and grinned at Hermione.

"They're just kidding, 'Mione."

Hermione snorted, her eyebrows raised.

"Sure."

Ginny smiled softly to herself. She knew for a fact that although Hermione wouldn't admit it, she enjoyed the meetings; the spark she had in her eyes when she talked about them was an obvious give away.

Almost like the one that she had when she was with Ron and Harry.

Harry………………….hmmm………

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

Hermione was piling food on to her plate and looking intently at Ginny, causing her to pour the ladle of soup she was holding in her right hand, straight onto her piece of bread, without noticing.

"Have you noticed anything about Harry, recently?"

Hermione's jaw dropped.

"Well, duh. He is now a busy body, perhaps? And he has buffed out, and cut his hair, and he shaves." She finished, finally noticing her soupy plate and swapping it with the empty one next to her.

Ginny gaped at her.

"How the hell do you know he shaves?"

"Doesn't matter." Hermione answered quickly, returning her attention to placing more food on her plate.

"Fine." Ginny said, slightly annoyed at being left out of something, again.

"But I don't mean the obvious changes. I mean the small ones, like right now. He was…smiling differently."

Hermione sighed then glanced over at her.

"For a while I thought the same. But think about it, the last time we saw him was last year. Of course he is going to smile differently. Sirius, the closest thing he ever had to a parent, died!!"

Ginny had the feeling that Hermione was lying to her about something, her eyes had flickered away momentarily when she said, "The last time we saw him was last year."

Deciding not to bug her about it, Ginny settled for a simple nod and changed the topic.

"How were your classes today?"

Ginny knew this was the best subject to get Hermione distracted. She could talk for hours about every detail in her classes and would tend to get so involved with every detail of her day, that Ginny could slip off into dream world, only having to occasionally nod or say, "Oh, really?"

Hermione talked till the end of the meal about her classes, only pausing momentarily to daintily slip food into her mouth. After they had both eaten enough, Ginny departed from the bench and the two girls headed for the Gryffindor common room. They still had another hour until the "meeting" meeting started, and Ginny wanted to finish her essay on Moonstones for Professor Snape before going.

The essay was fairly easier than Ginny thought it would be, and she only ended up spending 30 minutes on it. She waved the parchment around in the air several times to dry the black ink she had been writing in, before she placed it in her bag, then stood up and headed for the Head's common room.

The boy and girl had a headroom together farther up the stairs, located in the West tower. All of the different staircases from the different houses could reach the room, but only the Head boy and Head girl, and a selected few others could actually walk up to the tower, without having the stair cases expand so you could walk for hours and still not reach the top nor be able to turn around and go back down. Ginny had had this happen to her on the second day of first term, before Hermione had to attach a rope around her waist and pull her off. After that, Hermione gave her the password to freeze the staircase.

The headroom was a series of 7 huge rooms that were linked together by a cavernous meeting room. The prefect meetings were held there; the room always expanding to hold as many people as were needed. Apparently, every time you opened the door to the room, it would change size and shape. At one of the two Prefect meetings Ginny had attended so far, the room had painted itself cool blue, and had provided caters to carry food throughout the crowd of shocked Prefects.

The room to the left was a reasonable sized kitchen, which restocked itself. The room was bright yellow and had a painting by some muggle artist of some sunflowers. There were two windows that always had light shining in through then, whether it was night or day that could only be dimmed by a set of sunflower curtains that hung on either side of them.

Two bedrooms were off of the kitchen, which colored and furnished themselves, depending on the personality of the occupant. Ron had been thrilled when his bedroom appeared bright orange with Chudley Cannons merchandise all over the room. Ginny could still see him running to show Hermione with every new thing he found. Hermione's room, on the other hand, was the exact opposite: a dark scarlet, with mahogany bookshelves that reached the ceilings and covered two of the walls. There was a deep green bed with a canopy top, and special reading lights so she could read during the night without having to leave bed.

They each had a bathroom off of their bedrooms, which were colored similarly to the bedrooms, and the last room, a huge sitting room, adorned in Gryffindor colors, with a painting of a giant lion above the mantel.

For the first two weeks, Ron had been obsessed with the rooms, spending every living minute in them. Eventually, he complained about loneliness and went back to join the other boys in their dorm. Of course, he still spent time up there, but not every hour of every day. Hermione, however, chose to remain in her new bedroom. Ginny was not at all surprised about this; Hermione was often up late reading, and her dorm mates complained about it. Of course, once she got her own room, the problem was solved.

Knocking twice on the sitting room's door, Ginny shifted her feet impatiently, until a very hurried looking Hermione flung open the door and motioned her inside, before turning on her heel and almost running back to a pile of papers that were sitting beside one of the couches. Flinging herself down next to Hermione, who was speed-reading, Ginny peered over.

"What the hell are you reading Teen Witch for?"

Hermione answered quickly, her eyes still skimming over the text she was greedily soaking up.

"Take one yourself. I have to read them to be able to understand what the girls are talking about at these stupid meetings."

Ginny raised her eyebrows, her eyes lingering on Hermione's face before shrugging. How very Hermione-like to speed-read teen witch magazines.

Silently, as not to disturb her busy friend, Ginny reached into the pile and randomly picked a magazine. She had read most of them, but she didn't mind a refresher course.

"_Ahhhh, Skirt girl…what an incredibly stupid name for a magazine about how to get guys."_

Ginny's lips twitched into a minute smirk, and she opened the magazine.

The two of them spent the next twenty minutes reading, until Hermione announced that it was time to get ready. They hugged briefly, before parting ways. Ginny skipped back down the stairs to her own room, and threw the door of her dormitory open. She calmly walked around other dressing girls to her own dresser, where she grabbed a tank-top that Hermione had bought her, and a pair of loose pink PJ bottoms.

"Are you guys ready to go?" she asked, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Yes." Came a chorus of answers.

Ginny beamed.

"All right then, what are we waiting for?"

The 6 of them scampered out of the room and up one set of staircases, where a sign in glittering gold letters read, "Gryffie Girl's Night Up"

Ginny, who was at the front of group pushed the door open. Immediately, the strong smell of perfume and nail polish hit her nose.

This was going to be fun.

_Hahahaha, wee bit of a cliffy there. Next chapter is back in Harry's point of view, and will be a great deal longer. I may stop writing in Ginny's point of view so often; after all, I never have much to say with her. Send me your ideas on that. _

_ATTENTION: _

_IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW THIS STORY, AND YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ACCOUNT, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT __ or instant message me at lunalovegood4eva _

_For some reason, my computer won't let me click on the icon that says to allow unsigned reviews. I apologize for this greatly, but if you would like to review, then do so._

_Love From,_

_Lily_


	5. Master of the House

Milk and Chocolate

By ll4ever

Chapter 5: Master of the House

"Ahhhh, the men of the moment!!"

The bartender of the Dragon's Breath cackled happily; he loved the Dark Angel's; he had heard what good payers they were. Meanwhile, the bar erupted into cheers.

Drak and Savvy bowed formally in all directions, grinning at each other.

Almost immediately, the bartender set down the glass he had been wiping, while the scantily clad girl in the corner, catching the cue, slid into the bench of the piano.

Slowly, the bartender approached them, an almost mad look in his eyes, as he grabbed Drak by the shoulder, and leading him to the nearest bar stool, shoved him down in it, and leaned over him. Drak only had time to toss a rather frightened look in Savvy's direction, before the bartender stuck his gruesome face down next to his, and began to sing,

"_Welcome, M'sieur_

_Sit yourself down_

_And meet the best_

_Innkeeper in town"_

The entire bar erupted into drunken laughter, Drak downing his first glass of whiskey. Harry had seen this act before, on the telly, and didn't move from his place by the door.

"_As for the rest,_

_All of them crooks_

_Rooking their guests_

_And cooking the books"_

The bartender left Drak's side and sauntered over to the bar occasionally stopping to fill a glass of water.

_"Seldom do you see_

_Honest men like me_

_A gent of good intent_

_Who's content to be…"_

The bartender spun from where he had been pouring a glass of whiskey, placing his crooked hands on the table, and raised his voice.

"_Master of the house_

_Doling out the charm_

_Ready with a handshake_

_And an open palm_

_Tells a saucy tale_

_Makes a little stir_

_Customers appreciate a bon-viveur_

_Glad to do a friend a favour _

_Doesn't cost me to be nice_

_But nothing gets you nothing_

_Everything has got a little price!"_

Drak downed his fifth glass, and winked at Savvy. Harry knew he still had no fucking idea what the hell was going on, but he was obviously having fun.

Savvy leaned against the door waiting. He knew it would only be several more minutes.

Slowly, the bartender returned back to the bar, avoiding all the drunkards eyes, and began to mix a Bloody Mary, still singing, though his voice was a little quieter.

_"Master of the house_

_Keeper of the zoo_

_Ready to relieve 'em_

_Of a sou, or two._

_Watering the wine_

_Making up the weight_

_Pickin' up their knick-knacks_

_When they can't see straight_

_Everybody loves a landlord_

_Everybody's bosom friend_

_I do whatever pleases _

_Jesus! Won't I bleed 'em in the end!"_

Quickly, the bartender spun on his heel, his bar apron flapping against his pants as the rest of the bar joined in, including Drak and Savvy. No matter the fact that Drak had no idea what was going on; he was drunk, and he had picked up the song.

"_Master of the house_

_Quick to catch yer eye_

_Never wants a passer-by_

_To pass him by._

_Servant to the poor_

_Butler to the great_

_Comforter, philosopher_

_And lifelong mate!_

_Everybody's boon companion_

_Everybody's chaperone"_

Everyone quieted as the bartender finished, placing the Bloody Mary in front of its owner.

"_But lock up your valises_

_Jesus! Won't I skin you to the bone!"_

Slowly, the bartender ambled over to Harry.

"_Enter, M'sieur_

_Lay down yer load_

_Unlace yer boots_

_And rest from the road."_

Grabbing the bag of wizarding money from Harry's hands, the man's eyes widened in fake surprise.

"_This weighs a ton_

_Travel's a curse_

_But here we strive to lighten your purse._

_Here the goose is cooked_

_Here the fat is fried_

_And nothing's overlooked_

Till I'm satisfied…" 

The bartender shoved Harry down next to Draco and spun over to the bar, hiding his face again as he poured Savvy a drink.

"_Food beyond compare_

_Food beyond belief_

_Mix it in a mincer_

_And pretend it's beef._

_Kidney of a horse_

_Liver of a cat_

_Filling up the sausages _

_With this and that"_

Harry barely stuck out his hand in time as the glass spun into his hand. When he looked up, the bartender had moved farther down the bar, still keeping his back to the rest of his bar mates, and was preparing another drink.

"Residents are more than welcome 

_Bridal suite is occupied!_

_Reasonable charges_

_Plus some little extras on the side!_

_Charge 'em for the lice_

_Extra for the mice_

_Two per cent for looking in the mirror_

_Twice._

_Here a little slice_

_There a little cut_

_Three per cent for sleeping with the window _

_Shut."_

Another glass came flying into Harry's hand.

"_When it comes to fixing prices_

_There are lots of tricks he knows_

_How it all increases_

_All those bits and pieces_

_Jesus! It's amazing how it grows!!"_

Once again the bar exploded into song.

"_Master of the house_

_Quick to catch your eye_

_Never wants a passer-by to pass him by_

_Servant to the poor_

_Butler to the great_

_Comforter, philosopher_

_And life-long mate_

_Everybody's boon companion_

_Gives 'em everything he's got."_

The bartender was alone again as he called out loudly,

"_Dirty bunch of geezers_

_Jesus! What a sorry little lot!"_

With that, the kitchen door swung open, and the bartender disappeared from view. It was several seconds before a sweet timid voice rose from the corner.

"_I used to dream_

_That I would meet a prince."_

The woman's voice changed abruptly, becoming scratchier as she rose from the piano bench. Her skinny body adorned with just a bra and short skirt, disappeared, and when she reappeared, there was a fat woman wearing a poor women's dress in her place.

"_But God Almighty,_

_Have you seen what's happened since?_

_'Master of the house'?"_

She mocked, squeezing the nearest man's chin.

_"Isn't worth me spit!_

_'Comforter, philosopher'_

…_and lifelong shit!"_

The bar room erupted into cheers.

"_Cunning little brain_

_Regular Voltaire_

_Thinks he's quite a lover_

_But there's not much there."_

Everyone laughed as she perched one fat leg on a table and leaned towards the occupants face.

_"What a cruel trick of nature_

_Landed me with such a louse?_

_God knows how I've lasted_

_Living with this bastard in the house!"_

The room burst in laughter, Drak whistling his approval, as the bartender moseyed back into the room and everyone resumed singing.

"_Master of the house."_

_"MASTER AND A HALF!"_

The woman hollered from where she was standing in the corner.

"_Comforter, philosopher."_

_"DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!"_

The woman screamed, cackling as she ducked the cloth the bartender threw at her.

"_Servant to the poor_

_Butler to the great."_

_"HYPOCRITE AND TOADY_

AND INEBRIATE!"

Everyone laughed, and the men at the bar wrapped one of each of their arms around the neck of the man next to him, the other hand raising a glass to where the bartender and his wife were now standing now, silent.

"_Everybody bless the landlord!_

Everybody bless his spouse!" 

With a wave of the bartender's wand, everyone in the bar found a refilled glass in his hand, as he yelled,

"_EVERYBODY RAISE A GLASS!"_

_"RAISE IT UP THE MASTER's ARSE!!!!"_

His wife screamed, as the men roared their approval, before everyone finished.

"_EVERYBODY RAISE A GLASS TER THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE!!"_

The room exploded into cheers, whistles and laughter as the woman changed back into herself and she and the bartender bowed mockingly. Once everything had cooled down Drak turned to Savvy, swaying slightly in his seat, his eyes bloodshot, and slurred, "What in Merlin's hell was that?"

Harry hiccupped.

"Muggle……hiccup…….play……hiccup."

"I just sang a song from a Muggle play?" Drak garbled, his body sagging into the bar table, eyes wide.

"Hiccup…….you just…….hiccup…….saved…….hiccup……..fifty……... hiccup…. Muggle's lives………hiccup…….you…….bloody…….hiccup………bastard."

Harry pointed out, his eyes rolling slightly back into his head.

"Mmmm……good point. That hurt." Drak whined, rubbing his side.

"I need more, drinkssssssss."

Immediately, another pint of fire whiskey and two shot glasses landed in front of them.

"You know……….hiccup……….you sounded………..hiccup…a bit……… hiccup………….like……………hiccup……….Voldie……….hiccup……..there……"

"What do you expect? I practically grew up in his fan club." Drak utterered, raising his shot glass to his mouth.

Harry choked on his fire whiskey, causing Drak to inhale some of his own drink through his nose.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck, FUCK THAT HURTS!!" he screamed, causing gales of laughter to rise throughout the bar.

Harry eyes began to tear he was laughing so hard as Drak waved his hands by his face, looking very much like a girl.

"HELP ME!!!!" he screamed, as smoke began to spew out of his nose.

One of the women who had been serving the tables rushed over.

"Darling, are you hurt? Here."

She summoned a bucket of water, which Drak flung his head into.

When he reappeared, she ran one fingernail down his wet cheek and practically purred, "Your quite cute, you know. I have a room in the back……"

Harry snorted as Draco's face lit wit h excitement.

"Don't bother………hiccup……He's gay."

"Oh, pity…." She said, her gaze flicking onto Savvy's face.

"And you??……"

_"Think about other girls……….think about other girls……….not about the lady in front of you with a body like……ohhhh maaaannn………think about other girls……"_

"Ye…….hiccup……."

_A vision of a red head popped into his mind._

"Ye…No…hiccup……….sorry."

She looked genuinely disappointed.

"Another girl, I presume?"

Savvy nodded, downing another glass.

"Well," she said, quickly regaining her previous seductive tones. "If you ever……need me……here's my business card."

Reaching inside her top, she pulled a card from her bra and handed it to Savvy while Draco looked on, his face disappointed.

Blowing one last kiss at the two of them, she turned on her heel and meandered away, her hips swinging wildly.

Drak frowned, and downed another glass before turning back to Savvy.

"Do you always have to ruin the fun?"

"You're gay…….hiccup…….you'd regret it……..hiccup….later……..hiccup…..I think………hiccup"

"Wait, who am I?" Draco said curiously, his eyes rolling frantically in their sockets.

"Drak……..hiccup……..and I am……hiccup……Savvy…..hiccup…"

Draco nodded, his head flying all over then turned back to the glasses in front of him.

"Why do they have to make them so small?" He whined, setting aside his shot glass and grabbing the pint.

"Hey……hiccup……..I want…….hiccup……some." Savvy protested, grabbing at the glass.

"No." Draco said simply raising the glass to his lips.

Harry reached out and grabbed the glass from Drak's hands, as Draco launched himself at the man in the bar stool next to him, and the glass flew out of his hand.

"Hey….hiccup…….what…….hiccup………the fuck………is wrong…….with you?" Savvy protested as Drak punched, kicked, and slobbered on him.

It was only several seconds before a large hand pulled Draco off Harry and the bartender helped Savvy up.

"Alright you." He said shaking Drak, who stared wildly around.

"You've had enough. I've only got enough sobering potion for one of you, so I am going to give it to your partially drunk friend here," the man nodded at Harry. "And he'll help you back to where you guys came from. We're closing now."

Harry nodded, as the man shoved a sobering potion into his hand, and pushed the two of them out the door. In one large gulp, Savvy downed the potion, slapped some Galleons on the table, and smirked at Draco.

"Let's go, drunkard."

Harry seized their cloaks and stuffed Drak into his, before taking his partner by the arm and shoving him out the door.

Draco stared at him stupidly.

"Wha?? No more drinks?" he said, his head flopping to one side.

Savvy turned, and seeing his companion still standing by the door chuckled.

"Come on you bastard."

"Me?" Drak asked, stumbling toward him.

"You're the bastard."

Savvy rolled his eyes, and continued walking next to his staggering blood brother. Suddenly, Draco's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Wow…" he gurgled happily. "Do you see the pink elephants Savvy? There so beautiful……oh look, that ones dancing!"

Drak stumbled ahead, his eyes lit on the illusionary creatures, while Harry shook his head sadly.

"Sometimes I really need a video camera."

"A video camera?" Draco said, spinning on his heel and nearly falling into the brick building next to them. "I think pink elephants are much better. They're so much…"

But what Draco really though of the pink elephants was never spoken, at least not that night. He had stumbled into a dark alley and was currently ridding his stomach of the alcohol.

Harry winced at the sight, then smiled grimly.

"At least I can hold my liquor. Honestly Draco, we've been doing this for months, and you still continue to throw up!"

"Me? Not hold my liquor? Whatever do you mean?"

It was obvious that although the actual liquid had disappeared from Draco's stomach, the alcohol's effect was still active.

The two of them walked on, Drak still mumbling something about pink elephants until they came to a park where a couple stood holding hands. Draco remarked rather loudly to Harry, "Isn't that the life? I mean look at us," he stumbled forward. "We have to avoid the people of our dreams. I mean, we don't want to put them in danger's way, do we? You and…"

Harry clamped his hand over Draco's blabbing mouth and pulled him over to one side, while couples around them stared curiously.

"Can you shut up?" he hissed.

Drak stared at him stupidly, while Harry sighed and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Let's get out of here."

With that, Harry disapparated the two of them back under Harry's dormitory window at Hogwarts. Quickly, Harry shoved Draco to the ground, and scaled the vine outside his window. Silently, he pushed the window open, and did a people check.

"_Yes, there was Seamus, there was Dean, Neville…..oh yes, Neville was in the hospital wing….you really shouldn't try to take on a Slytherin….there was Ron, lord that man snored loudly….there was himself."_

Harry smiled in satisfaction at the exact replica of himself on his bed, as he slipped through the window and grabbed the bottle of sobering potion, before climbing back down the trellis.

"Here, you idiot."

Harry shoved the potion into Draco's mouth, furiously rubbing his throat until Drak swallowed

Draco took no notice of Harry, nor the fact he had just had one of the foulest potions in the world stuck down his throat; his head had slumped off to one side, and his eyes had completely rolled back in his sockets. Sighing exasperatedly, Harry grabbed Draco by the hair and apparated them outside the fat lady's portrait, before banishing Draco to his bed in the Slytherin dormitories. Glancing up, he smirked in relief. Draco hadn't vomited on him, and more importantly, the Fat Lady was out visiting her friend Violet. Under his breath, he cast a small spell, and scampered inside the newly opened portrait, only to freeze.

There was someone in there.

Immediately, Harry muttered a series of cleaning, deodorizing, concealing, and revealing charms on himself. Peering cautiously through the dark, he felt his heart slow down.

"_Thank goodness. It was only Hermione."_

Harry approached her cautiously. It was obvious that she was in deep thought; her eyes were unfocused and her hands were playing with the strings of her pajama bottoms.

"Hey……..Mione?"

Hermione turned slowly, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"Hi Harry. I didn't hear you come in."

"Errr….I was really quiet." He half lied quickly.

"Oh…"

She managed a small smile, before turning her gaze back to the fire.

Making up his mind quickly, and ran forward silently, then vaulted over the back of the couch, landing on the cushions with a _phump_, and sending her flying.

"HARRY!!!!!" she screamed.

He grinned cockily.

"Shhh, we're going to wake the children…"

She settled herself back down on the cushions and gave him a disapproving glare.

"Sick, randy bastard." She mumbled, before the two of them burst into laughter.

"Oh come on, you wouldn't really say that about your brother, now, wouldn't you?"

"Not unless he deserved it." She murmured, leaning back against his chest.

There were several moments of silence before she said

"I had a lot of fun in August, Harry."

"I did too. Have you told anyone yet?"

She shook her head, and returned her gaze to him.

"You?"

"Na. Do you think we should?"

"Someday. Ron's likely to notice the sign one day."

Harry rubbed the back of her neck, gently, where he knew she had the sign of magical sibling bonding engraved into her skin though it was always concealed with hair.

"I don't know. He still hasn't noticed how beautiful you are." He pointed out quietly.

She nodded sadly, and Harry remembered why he had come over to her in the first place.

"Did something happen?"

She shrugged.

"I've been chosen."

"Pardon me?"

"Chosen. Remember how I told you about the GGNU meetings? Well, at midnight, they always choose a girl, a task, and a time limit. I was chosen." She said simply, grabbing on to Crookshanks, who had just walked by, and stuffing him on her lap.

"Ahh…..and?" he prompted, quite amused by the fact that Hermione seemed not to notice about the fact that the cat on her lap was not enjoying being petted.

"I have exactly one week to be the main subject in the Gryffindor sixth year's dormitory."

Hermione began to scratch Crookshanks under the chin, and the poor cat finally gave in, purring with joy.

"Ouch……." Harry said, kissing the top of her head.

"But I am going to do it. And I've got a name too. Operation Get Idiotic Guys to Notice Me. Otherwise known as Operating G.I.G.N.M, for short."

_"Oh damn, there was that glint in her eyes, the one that she had when she talked about spew, or the DA. Shit, I really hate this. She has no idea how hard it is to get any of those boys attention all on one girl. But, well, she's got the body, and the brains."_

Harry's pondering was interrupted as Hermione turned around.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, her voice quite concerned.

"You can do it." He decided quickly.

"You're a great brother." She said happily, pushing herself up and kissing his cheek.

"I'm off to bed. See you tomorrow, yes?"

Harry nodded, and watched as she flounced off, and skipped up the staircase to her dormitory.

He really didn't know how long he sat there, thinking, about nothing in particular. It was still several hours from dawn though, when he dragged himself up to bed.

_"Oh lord, do the curtains have to open by themselves???"_

Harry rubbed his eyes blearily, and pushed himself up in bed, his groans blending in with those of his roommates.

Spying a bottle of "Hung Over? This will Guarantee to Get You Up!!!" he drowned it in one gulp, and slipped the potion bottle back into his trunk, as the other bed curtains, creaked open around him.

Ron was sitting looking very sleep deprived; the normal "Weasley in the morning" look for him. He usually had that expression until he got food, and a lot of it.

Dean was laughing hoarsely at something Seamus had just said, which didn't appear to be that funny by the look on Seamus' face, while Seamus grabbed his uniform out of his trunk.

And then, quite suddenly, the door to the room sprang open.

**Hermione Granger **

**was standing there **

**in a **

**TIGHT tank top**

**and a **

**short, **

**short, **

**short, **

**short,**

**short,**

**SHORT SKIRT**

Three mouths dropped open, Harry smirked, and Hermione sashayed into the room and made a beeline for Harry.

Ron whimpered, practically salivating, his eyes firmly attached to her chest, while Dean and Seamus still stood frozen, their jaws dropped, Seamus' fist still raised to knock Dean senseless.

Hermione didn't seem to notice them; though she shot a quick smile at Harry before she asked carelessly, "Harry, dear, do you have that pair of fish nets I bought? I think they got packed in with your stuff."

Though Harry thought it impossible, Ron began to drool more, and Seamus and Dean seemed to manage to open their mouths wider.

"Err, yes……..I think they're just in here." He mumbled quickly, stuffing his face into his trunk, and picking up a pair of socks, muttered, "Redes dos Peixes"

Harry allowed a second to marvel his work, before he passed them up to Hermione whose face practically exploded with happiness.

"Oh, these are just the ones. Thank you soooo much, darling."

She swooped down on Harry, kissing him gently on the cheek and murmuring softly enough so the rest of the room wouldn't hear, "Thanks. I'll explain later."

Hermione straightened and swayed out of the room, before stopping with her hand on the doorknob and turning to Ron.

"Ronald, dear, you've got something shiny on your chin. Do wipe it off; you don't look very attractive."

Ron didn't move, his eyes still remaining on the place where Hermione had stood seconds before.

Harry, meanwhile, glanced around at the frozen dormitory and broke into a full mouth smile.

"Operation G.I.G.N.M had begun. And personally, Harry also thought it had already succeeded."

_Oh, man I AM HAVING SO MUCH DAMN FUN!! You have no idea, I am just sitting here laughing my head off at Hermione. Oh lord……I've got to calm myself down. _

_Okay. I am back. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. The next chapters might be in Ron, Hermione, and possibly Ginny's pov. Of course, with some Harry in between. Oh, this is so much fun! Wait, I said that already. Anyway, this update I am totally dedicating to my awesome reviewer **Todo-the-half-elf**. I mean, you guys are all awesome, but she gave me the idea for the drunkard scene! Thank you all so much for reviewing, thank you Todo-the-half-elf for suggesting putting in the drunkard scene, and please review!!_

_The next chapter should hopefully be here by, about……..Tuesday, or Monday perhaps!_

_Love From,_

_A Laughing Very Hard,_

_For Very Long,_

_For Really No Apparent Reason,_

_I guess,_

_Never mind,_

_I am confused,_

_Lily_

_P.S. Oh, I can't believe I forgot this. The song is called Master of the House from Les Miserables. Sorry I really don't know how to the accent things. By the way, if you like the idea of Harry and Draco being friends, and meeting someplace, I am definitely pushing you to read Jeco, or Jeconais. The story that really prompted me to write this is The Fifth House by him. The other stories that have prompted me to write are:_

_1. Jeco's stories. I already told you that._

_2. Rising Depths by Ennui-EAF_

_3. misshogwarts by JennaMae_

_Those are the stories on _

_On SIYE, here are some others_

_1. Strangers Hold Even Stranger Secrets by Serpentspawn_

_2. Jenny by LaFeeMechante_

_3. Becoming by Dolenbyd_

_4. Picture Perfect Family by wishing4penguins_

_5. Reality Bites by Trinka_

_6. Knickers by firegoddess_

_These are only some of the stories that have inspired me. Sorry if I forgot to list yours! Anyway, I definitely recommend reading these! ENJOY!_

_P.S.S. Okay, this is a little off the subject, if there is one here!, but that this is my first chapter which I have updated hot off the press! Just thought you might want to know._

_P.S.S.S. See that little button, somewhere in the corner? Click it. It does miracles. _


	6. The Road to Somewhere

Milk and Chocolate

By ll4ever

Chapter 6: The Road to Somewhere

_-_

They made up their minds 

_And they started packing _

_They left before the sun came up that day _

_An exit to eternal summer slacking _

_But where were they going without ever _

_Knowing the way?_

_- _

Ginerva Weasley was in a frightfully good mood. She had practically floated around Saturday; her feet seemed to not even touch the ground. She wasn't quite sure why she was in such a good mood. After all, the morning had been quite queer. First, Hermione's quite outrageous, but very effective plan had been operated, in the space of 5 minutes, then Harry's strange disappearance at breakfast. Ginny wracked her memory.

"_What had happened?? Oh yes. Harry had been sitting next to a still drooling Ron, shoveling down piles and piles of white stuff…what had it been_?"

Ginny bit her lip in concentration, staring out onto the lake as if it would give her an answer or two.

"_Sugar! He had been eating sugar! Wait…that made no sense. Why would the boy-who-lived be eating sugar?"_

Ginny frowned, her toes scrunching up against her leather sandals and dismissed the thought.

"How is that important? It's not like I will ever be able to figure out the answer anyway…unless I talked to Harry. But that, of course, is a preposterous idea. Talk to Harry? I'd rather dye my hair permanently blonde and walk around for several days scantily clad. Anyway, he's such a hard person to talk to…and I don't really want to ruin any chance of the friendship we have, even though it isn't very big in size. And he never opens up on anything!"

Ginny mentally slapped herself.

"_Arg. Of course he doesn't want to talk! I didn't want to, and still don't want to, talk about the chamber…_"

The only female Weasley under the age of 20 winced.

That was not a good subject to think about. She had long ago stuffed those memories in a box, and she didn't want to bring them up again. But she needed to get back to the subject.

-

They drank up the wine 

_And they got to talking _

_They now had more important things to say _

_And when the car broke down they started walking _

_Where were they going without ever _

_Knowing the way? _

_-_

"_What happened next?"_

Ginny turned her gaze down to her slender hands, twisting them thoughtfully.

"_Harry had been sitting there, and, the owls had arrived. One had brought Harry a strangely shaped package, and the other…the Daily Prophet. And Harry had taken one glance at the paper, and…run out of the room? Yes, he had left, without a goodbye. But no one had seemed to notice. Hermione was to busy trying to ignore Ron, and Ron was to busy drooling at Hermione. There hadn't actually been that many students down in the Great Hall…it had been awfully early. But there had been one, one who left the room after Harry. Malfoy…Draco Malfoy."_

Ginerva swore heavily, entirely grateful that her mother wasn't around to scold her for her "unladylike behavior".

"_There was something going on!"_

If there was anything in the world Ginny hated, it was being kept in the dark. She swore again, and dumped the rock she had been playing with into the lake.

"_There HAS to be something going on! The looks Malfoy had been giving her, and the staged arrivals and departures. The Harry she had seen last night, and the fact that Malfoy hadn't insulted her since school had started. And when he insulted Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they hadn't been such deep hurtful insults. More weak, less meaningful. Of course, Ron still got furiously angry, but she hadn't honestly seen Harry get truly mad since…….well…………for a long time! And the feeling when Harry and Malfoy were around each other! The atmosphere was no longer ice cold when they passed each other in the hallway. It was different……….."_

Ginny felt the excitement mounting inside her stomach. She was getting somewhere!

"_The atmosphere……….was almost like the one she had when she was around……her brothers!"_

Ginny's eyes widened.

"_What the hell was going on?"_

The Gryffindor Chaser wracked her memory furiously, desperately digging up other details of memories she had cast aside.

"_Harry's toned body……. the prophecy they had seen in her fourth year………his head in the window the other day………...this was no coincidence!"_

-

_Chorus: _

_Anyone can see the road that they walk on _

_Is paved in gold _

_And it's always summer _

_They'll never get cold _

_They'll never get hungry _

_They'll never get old and grey _

_You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere _

_They won't make it home _

_But they really don't care _

_They wanted the highway _

_They're happier there today, today _

-

Ginny stared up at the castle in front of her.

"_There was the window Dumbledore had been at….. and the one McGonagall had been writing by. And above it……yes, between those two windows was where Ginny could have sworn she saw Harry."_

Quickly, she flicked her eyes down, silently counting the number of windows down to the ground.

"_6 windows……….He was on the seventh floor…….. What was on the seventh floor?"_

With a **whoosh**, Ginny felt all the air leaving her lungs. She could remember it as though it was yesterday. It had, of course, been the closest to Harry she had ever been. Goosebumps ran up and down her spine. She could still remember his low husky voice whispering in her ear……. his breath on the nape of her neck.

"Tonight…. eight o'clock, seventh floor opposite that tapestry of Barbabas the Barmy being clubbed by those trolls. Tell any of the D.A. members you pass in the hallway, but quietly! We don't want to be discovered."

Ginny's legs tensed, her calves tightening to reveal the well used muscles she had acquired from Quidditch.

Underneath her breath, she whispered gleefully, "The Room of Requirement."

With a whoop, the teenager sprang to her feet, all the blades of grass she had dug up and placed on her lap flying dizzily through the air.

"YES!!! I AM GETTING SOMEWHERE!!!!!!"

If anyone had been out on the strangely cold day, they would have been quite startled by the 6th year's behavior.

Ginerva brushed off her pants subconsciously, and skipped toward the Great Hall's door. She needed to consult Hermione, go to the library, and scream into a pillow for a while.

Ginny walked down the corridor with well-practiced calm. Her talk with Hermione had gone fabulous. The older girl had promised to help, and swore not to tell anyone about their research, other that Ron, of course. At first Ginny hadn't been to pleased with Hermione's decision to tell her older brother, but after some convincing, Ginny realized she was right. After all, they all cared quite a lot for the black haired boy.

-

_Their children woke up _

_And they couldn't find them _

_They left before the sun came up that day _

_They just drove off and left it all behind 'em _

_But where were they going without ever _

Knowing the way? 

-

She was currently off to the library, clutching in her fist a very lengthy book list Hermione had given her to check out.

Prophecies, and What They Mean

The Unavoidable Predicted Fate

Seers and What They Do

The Most Famous Prophecy

And many others.

Ginny smirked, hardly believing her luck. Truly, she didn't know why it had taken her so long to figure out! Once you really thought about it, they were quite obvious clues!

Then, Ginny saw something…no someone, in front of her. Someone who made her good mood vanish like a rabbit that has spotted a hunter.

Pansy Parkinson.

Queen of Slytherin

While Malfoy had been quieting down, Parkinson had only been growing louder. She had become the school's biggest gossiper, the starter of all the rumors, and the officially nastiest student currently at school in Hogwarts.

And, Ginny's worst enemy.

But by far the worst thing currently was the fact that Parkinson had spotted her…..and was making a beeline for the red head.

"Virginia Weasel!" she called out sweetly.

"How are you, darling?"

Ginny gritted her teeth. Her name. Wasn't. Virginia. Nor. Weasel.

"I'm doing simply terrible since you showed up, Viola x wittrockiana." Ginny answered truthfully.

Almost out of nowhere, a crowd began to form around Ginny and Pansy. Ginny, however, hardly noticed. She was looking for weak spots.

Pansy's eyes narrowed.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Viola x wittrockiana? Honestly! Viola x wittrockiana. The little evergreen garden pansy!" Ginny answered cheerfully.

She wasn't going to let Pansy completely ruin her day.

It was true about Pansy being little. The girl had barely reached the height of 142 cm.

Pansy's mouth dropped.

"You filthy muggle loving bitch! How dare you!!" Pansy hissed, spitting on to the stone floor.

Ginny didn't react.

"Oh! I'm not the muggle loving bitch! I'm the you'd-better-watch-your-mouth bitch! And you're the my-mouth-is-to-big-for-my-ass bitch. Did you perhaps mistake me for someone else?"

Pansy's hands clenched, her face steadily growing more and more red, before finally exploding.

"HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!!!" she screeched, and for a split second, Ginny could see the resemblance between Parkinson and Sirius' mother, and her portrait.

Pansy, meanwhile, sprang into the air, landing nearly on top of Ginny.

"CAT FIGHT!!!" some idiot called from the crowd, but no one reacted.

Ginny pulled Pansy off of her, shoving her onto the ground, where Pansy quickly sprang back on her feet. Unfortunately, she wasn't done yet.

"You, bitch, will one day pay. Our lord will kill you." She whispered happily in Ginny's ear.

Ginny, however, lifted her leg, and slammed her heel of her boots she had put on an hour before, hard down on Parkinson's foot, while at the same time, pulling her hand back, and bring it across Pansy's face.

"No. He won't. And if he tries to I promise to use you as my personal body shield as he shoots curse after curse at me." She spat angrily, before turning and leaving the girl crumpled on the floor.

She never saw the milk and chocolate colored haired boys standing in the far corner, watching the exchange.

She didn't see the raven-haired boy smile.

She didn't see him stare longingly at her.

And she most certainly did not see him mouth proudly to the young man next to him,

"That's my girl."

_-_

_Chorus_

_Anyone can see the road that they walk on _

_Is paved in gold _

_And it's always summer _

_They'll never get cold _

_They'll never get hungry _

_They'll never get old and grey _

_You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere _

_They won't make it home _

_But they really don't care _

_They wanted the highway _

_They're happier there today, today_

_-_

I know that was a little short, but I was practically falling asleep while writing! Well, there, at long last, it is! So sorry that took so long. I had a pretty rough holiday, after getting sick myself, and then my computer getting a virus. Anyway, I'm back in the groove! Hope you enjoyed this! Someone (sorry I don't remember who!!) suggested that I give Harry a reason to like Ginny, to give her some personality. Have I done that here? If no, I still have many more chapters to do so! Anyway, sorry again! Please review. It means a lot to me! The next update should be sometime next week, hopefully! The song is The Way by Fastball. A very good song, if you don't mind me saying. One of my personal favorites…….

Ciao

Lily

By the way, not to make you all feel bad or guilty, or sympathetic, or something but I stayed up till 4 in the morning working on this. If anything shows my dedication to you and this story, hopefully that does. I have not forgotten you, nor given up on this story. Just a bit of writer's block and two bad viruses! Basically, I realized that I needed to get this done. And what better time than to do it at 4 in the morning? :)


	7. Useless Ramblings

Milk and Chocolate

By ll4ever

Chapter 7:

Harry had been the first Gryffindor down to breakfast. Of course, it was only understandable, judging by the fact he had to finish 10 cups of sugar without making to many people suspicious. He knew from experience how hyper he got when on sugar, and how he tended to say things and have no recollection of them later. A little bit like Draco when he was drunk…………..

Harry grabbed the bowl of sugar in front of him, dumping its entire contents into his bowl, and watching as it refilled itself. He honestly hated eating all the sugar; the taste wouldn't leave his mouth for the entire day. But, he had made the bet, and had lost, though not fairly, but had lost it nonetheless.

By the time he was on his 9th cup, Ginny had joined him. She kept shooting him rather curious looks from underneath her hair, which had swung forward to cover her face, and Harry had a sinking suspicion that she was catching on to something. He honestly hated when that happened. But he didn't bother worrying too much. He had, of course, thrown Hermione off his tail, and he had lived with her for 7 days before boarding the Hogwarts Express.

He frowned.

Ginny was a Weasley, though, and Harry had found that the Weasley's were nearly impossible people to hide things from, especially the females in the household. Harry considered himself quite lucky, having avoided spending any time with them over the summer. He knew he had hurt Mrs. Weasley by declining each of their 11 invitations, but he was to glad that they hadn't found anything out to worry too much about it.

Harry looked up, startled, as Hedwig gave a particularly loud squawk. She had obviously been sitting there a long time, and was looking quite peeved at being ignored. He quickly grabbed a piece of bacon from the platter beside him, and handing it to her, which she snapped up rather gratefully, but with some annoyance, grabbed the parcels he had received.

"Lupin…………..keep out of trouble………………..don't dwell……………..Tonks…………"

Harry shook his head, grinning. Tonks was always present in Remus's letters. Harry had a small suspicion that there was something deeper than friendship between them, and that Remus was just being to daft to realize it. Harry honestly didn't think he even realized how much he talked about the young Auror.

Harry opened the next letter, and scanned its contents before tossing it carelessly to the side. Fan Mail. He honestly hated receiving the stuff; it just made him feel guiltier about not hurrying up with killing Voldemort.

Harry eyed the package curiously, before cautiously reading the label.

"I'll trust you'll find these useful……….

D and A

Live a little………"

Harry snorted. He honestly didn't know how they got things through to him, being out of the world and all. He suspected that Aree pulled some strings. Being engaged to the Death Prince had its usefulness, after all.

The black haired boy glanced quickly around, catching Ginny's eyes. She hastily diverted them, not wanting him to know she had been watching him. Harry frowned, and stuffed the package into his robe pocket. He didn't trust opening whatever it was here…….Ginny was watching him to carefully.

Mr. Potter grabbed the last paper from Hedwig, The Daily Prophet, while stuffing the last of the sugar into his mouth. He swallowed with difficulty, and opened the tightly wrapped package.

"**DARK ANGEL'S SECRET LOVES"**

"Recent information has come to the Daily Prophet concerning the Dark Angel's secret lives. Apparently, saving the world has it's downsides, one of which seems to include not being able to tell girls that you love them…….."

Harry's face tightened, his eyes growing cold and hard. He grabbed the paper off the table, thrusting himself backward, and stepping off the bench. Ignoring the frightened look Ginny sent his way, he clenched his fist, and marched over to the Slytherin table, where Draco sat warily.

"You………..bastard……"he ground out, grabbing the smaller boy by the back off his shirt, dragging him out of the room.

"Hey!" Draco protested loudly, once they had left the Great Hall.

"What happened to the secrecy?"

Harry spun around, sending Drak crashing into the wall on the other side of the unused classroom he had dragged them into.

"I'll give you secrecy." He snarled, slamming his fist out towards Draco's jaw.

The blonde boy ducked right in time, jumping back behind the desk.

"What the fuck is going on?" He snapped, ducking another angry punch.

Harry spat angrily on the floor.

"Read."

He spun the paper at Draco, who caught it with one hand and flipped it to the first page.

"Do you enjoy this? Revealing bits about us to the press? Damn it Draco! We were supposed to be relatively secret!"

Harry swung his hand furiously, crashing it into the walls, which protested loudly, leaving a huge dent in the wall.

"Fuck…….."

Draco scanned the contents of the paper, his frown turning to a scowl. Harry threw himself into a chair, exhaustion finally catching up with him. It was way to early in the morning for scandals.

"Wait……Harry………did you read the entire article???"

"No." Harry snarled. "I was a little busy dragging the asshole who got us into this mess out of the room."

Draco shook his head, a small grinning slowly forming on his lips.

"Savvy, they don't know ANYTHING!! Listen:

'Several reporters who were enjoying a stroll in Mayside Park yesterday evening reported that two members of the Dark Angel's were arguing at the edge of the park. When they got closer, one of the Dark Angel's pressed his lips against the others'. Is it possible that two of the Dark Angel's are gay? For more on Rita Skeeter's scoop, turn to page 6.'"

Harry stared at Drak, and muttered, "Rita??"

"Rita." Draco confirmed.

The two sixteen year olds burst out laughing.

"Gay????"

"Well one of us is!"

"Hey!"

"It's the honest truth."

"Ach, shut up."

Harry's face suddenly grew serious, and said rather awkwardly, "Hey, uh, sorry about that…you know…….dragging you out of the Great Hall and all………"

Draco shook his head and muttered, "No problem. I would have done the same thing."

The two boys stared off into opposite corners of the room, and for a few precious moments, the room was blessed with silence. Then, quite suddenly, the teenagers met eyes, and they both burst out laughing again.

"Gay???"

"Hey, Drak, let's take a break today."

"School?"

"Screw school. It's Saturday anyway."

"Good point."

"Where shall we go?"

"Not another bar. I don't know about you, but I don't want to get pissed any time soon."

"Hmm…….Mini-Golf?"

The boys laughed.

"As if……..Actually, that'd be pretty funny. Imagine if the press caught up with us there!"

Drak shook his head softly, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"Alright, shall we visit Grawp??"

"Hell no."

"I agree."

"Aree??"

"Emergencies only."

"Kill joy."

"Whatever. How about……….."

"This is boring."

"Shut up! I'm thinking."

"Quit thinking!"

"Fine, you want to play Quidditch?"

"Sounds great."

"Let's go."

Neither boy moved.

"Damn, this is boring."

"………"

"HARRY!!!!!!!!!!"

"I've…….got……..an……..idea……that………might………..just…………work!"

"Huh? What? Quit speaking so slowly, it screws up my brain!"

"Freak."

"Bastard."

"Son of a Bitch."

"Asshole."

"Shut up."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"This is boring."

"DRACO!!!!!!"

"Hell, whatever. I'll be upstairs."

"Fine………..Bastard."

"Hey, I resent that! My parents were married!"

"So were mine."

"Arg, whatever. See you around."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Draco threw his hands over his head.

"You're worthless!"

"So are you."

"Point taken."

"Point taken."

"Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"No."

"It's 3 o'clock in the bloody afternoon!"

"You're kidding."

"Would I kid about something like that?"

"Maybe."

"Hey!"

"Hay is for horses."

"Oh MERLIN!!!!"

Harry snorted, sensing Draco's obvious exasperation.

"I'm leaving now!"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"I'm really leaving!"

"Sure."

"I am!"

"Uh huh.'

"No, really! Watch me!"

"I'm watching."

"Arg! You're distracting me."

"You distracted me."

"Do you ever shut up?"

"No. Do you?"

"No."

"Perfect. We're going to be stuck here forever."

"At least you are."

"Nuhuh."

"Bye!"

"Wait."

"Do you hear that?"

Harry and Draco pressed their ears up against the door.

"CAT FIGHT!!!!!"

Savvy pulled his ear back.

"What the hell?"

Drak pulled open the door, and the two of them quietly snuck over to where a crowd was circling two girls.

"Ginny?"

"HA, I'd like to see how the Queen of Slytherin is going to hold up against the lion."

The two boys quieted, listening to the exchange.

"You, bitch, will one day pay. Our lord will kill you."

Draco winced while Ginny raised her leg and slammed the heel of her boot down on Parkinson's foot, while slapping Pansy rather hard across the face.

Harry however grinned.

"Sucker."

Drak waved his hand, muttering a quick, "shut up lover boy." To Harry, and went back to listening to the exchange.

"No. He won't. And if he tries to I promise to use you as my personal body shield as he shoots curse after curse at me."

Harry grinned, nudging Draco in the ribs as Ginny pushed her way out of the crowds and walked off in the opposite direction.

"That," he murmured happily. "That is my girl."

Drak laughed as the two of them spun on their heels and walked back into the deserted classroom they had been at for most of the day.

"Harry," he said, grinning as he locked the door. "I'm sorry for bursting your bubble, but I highly doubt you will ever be able to domesticate that creature."

Savvy grinned; throwing himself back into the chair he had occupied earlier, and said happily, "I won't even try. I might get my fingers bitten off."

Well, there is chapter 7. I am thinking about possibly changing the rating on this story down to a PG13. I took a silent vote with myself, and I have decided there will be no sex scenes in this story. Actually, there will be, but I am not going to do the entire thing. Does that make sense? Just wondering if I should keep it R for language and the dark violence that is coming up…….. Give me your feedback on that. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Ciao,

Lily

Oh yeah, by the way, my computer now let's me have anonymous reviews, so…….review! Feel free to email me at: 

OH YEAH, very important news. Anyone interested in being a beta reader for me? I honestly need someone to tell me when one of my chapters utterly and completely sucks. Don't be shy; just give me a message! Sorry if you've been giving me hints and I haven't noticed. I can be a little thick headed…..


	8. Whatever Shall We Do

Milk and Chocolate 

**By: ll4evr**

**Chapter 8: Whatever Shall We Do?**

Albus Dumbledore was simply stupefied. He sat in front of the table, his hands folded neatly in front of him as he surveyed the Daily Prophets from the last 4 months. His eyes were crinkled with worry as he glanced at the date at the corner of the Daily that was closest to him, December 11th. As he scanned the papers in front of him, he muttered angrily, "Damn! They're in the Prophet more than us!"

A gasp of shock echoed through out the room, and the Headmaster realized that he had spoken aloud.

"I… uh… meant…"

"Albus Dumbledore! What would your mother say if she heard you speaking like that! Honestly!" Minerva McGonagall hollered, shaking her head miserably.

Albus tried to start again, his cheeks tinged pink, but was drowned out by a crash from Tonks, who had stretched her arms lazily and hit into the porcelain vase behind her.

Several groans were heard from throughout the room, Professor Snape sneered angrily (though he was quickly elbowed by his companion who was grinning madly), and the Weasley twins burst into laughter. Once everything had calmed down, with Tonks perched on her chair, her cheeks adorned in a blush that could rival the Weasley's, he started once again.

"I said, they are in the Prophet more than us!"

From across the room, the Weasley twin's faces alit with excitement, as they had been the ones who had brought all the Daily Prophets.

"Yes -"

"Sir -"

"They are -"

"In them -"

"More than we -"

"Us!"

"We!"

"It's us, Fred!"

"We!"

"BOYS!" Mrs. Weasley roared, as her husband placed a restraining arm on her.

"Well -"

"Mum -"

"Which one is it?"

"We?"

"Or us?"

Mrs. Weasley blushed a brilliant red, and the twins sat back smirking at their handy work.

"Well… I… uh… really… uh…" She stuttered, half angrily, half terribly embarrassed.

Dumbledore sighed.

"Fred, George, please, continue."

The twins leaned back forward eagerly.

"Anyway -"

"They are in the Prophet -"

"More than -"

"……"

"……"

"The Order of the Phoenix?" Snape's companion piped up, her eyebrows far above the line where the Headmaster to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was fairly sure eyebrows could go.

The twins shot a grin her way, which she returned earnestly.

"The Order of the Phoenix -"

"Or -"

"Any other -"

"Anti-Voldemort -"

"Group -"

"That has recently -"

"Gone public -"

"Like us!"

"We!"

"Fred, I'm honestly sure it's us!"

"You don't know everything!"

"Neither do you!"

"Frrrrrreeeeeeeddddddd!"

"You idiot, you're Fred!"

"Oh… right."

The boys roared with laughter as Mrs. Weasley slapped her son's arms and exclaimed, "Shhh, you two!"

Dumbledore clearly heard Snape mutter angrily, "It wasn't even that funny!"

His companion slapped his hand, her eyes watching the twins with suppressed mirth, the corners of her mouth quirking up into a smirk. Dumbledore interrupted the proceedings quickly.

"You're right, boys."

"About we?"

"Or us?"

Dumbledore cleared his throat, his left hand jumping from his other hand to tug on his beard.

"Neither. You're right about the Daily Prophet."

Mr. Weasley's eyebrows furrowed together, and he scooted to the front of his hard wooden chair, leaning forward slightly.

"What should we do?"

"About?" Tonks questioned, snapping back into the conversation.

Dumbledore couldn't help but notice she had been trying to avoid Lupin's gaze, who had been staring avidly at her since the meeting had begun. As he opened his mouth to answer the question, Remus beat him to it, and Albus realized that he must have been listening more than he thought.

"The Dark Angels, Tonks." He said smoothly, and the young Auror blushed furiously, immediately averting her eyes from the ex-Professor across the table from her.

_What is going on with those two? _Dumbledore shook his head, and sat back in his chair, focusing his gaze on the woman who had risen to speak.

"Why are you so worried about them?" Stated Altra Prova, Snape's companion, ignoring the questioning looks she was receiving.

Dedalus Diggle answered for her, his top hat falling off in the process.

"Isn't it obvious, ma'm? They could be –" he shivered, the spectacles he had bought earlier that month falling to the ground, "Evil!"

Miss Prova scoffed.

"Evil? The D.A.? Let me remind you… they're tying up Death Eaters for us!"

"It could all be a ploy…" Kingsley Shacklebolt boomed, his rich voice causing Tonks to jump, and her wand to fly out of her hand and land in Remus' hair.

The werewolf calmly removed it and passed it back to the klutz sitting across from him, his fingers resting on hers a little longer than Dumbledore was sure necessary.

Alastor Moody cleared his throat softly, then boomed, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

All the occupants of the room jumped several feet, Albus one of them, though he had been expecting Moody to roar, and Remus and Tonks flew apart from each other, both shaking their hands as though they had been scalded.

There was silence for a few seconds, then Minerva screamed, "ALASTOR MOODY, HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU **NOT **TO DO THAT!"

The twins erupted into laughter as Moody shrunk from the madwoman in front of him, grimacing slightly, his face horribly disfigured.

"Honestly, Minerva," he began in a timid voice. "It was only my idea of a bit of fun!"

"FUN? FUN?" She shrieked. "YOUR IDEA OF FUN NEARLY HAS ME HAVING A HEART ATTACK!"

The laughter rose from Fred and George, until Mrs. Weasley shot them a disapproving glare, and their mouths snapped shut.

"But," a strong voice rose from next to McGonagall, "She could be right!"

"Who?" Elphias questioned, twisting his bowler cap between his thumb and forefinger, and squinting over at Emmeline Vance

Emmeline quieted for a moment, swirling the glass of water she had been drinking, before she looked apologetically up at the black haired woman next to Snape.

"I'm dreadfully sorry, but I've appeared to have forgotten your name!"

A smile graced Altra's lips, and she replied hastily, the words rolling off of her tongue. "Altra, Altra Prova."

"Oh yes, yes. Miss Prova could very well be right!"

Elphias Dodge paused, looking curiously up at Emmeline, while Hestia Jones answered leisurely, "Well, we really have no evidence that they aren't good! I mean, for Merlin's sakes, they are capturing at least ten or so Death Eaters every two weeks!

Dumbledore frowned.

"But we don't know why they are doing this!"

Emmeline jumped on the Headmaster's question, answering it hurriedly.

"Personal revenge, perhaps? A debt they need to pay a lost loved one? There really are plenty of reasons why! Why are we doing it?"

Dumbledore nodded slowly, but it was Fleur who answered, her sweet voice floating over the room's inhabitants and warming their ears.

"Becuz it iz right!" She purred, struggling slightly to keep her French accent down. She wasn't usually one of the members of the Order of the Phoenix who talked often, more a listener than anything else.

Several members around the room nodded thoughtfully.

Dumbledore's lips steadily twisted down.

"But think!" He ordered. "Who could defeat so many Death Eaters? We are lucky to bring down several every two months. And they're on the front page every day! If it weren't for the fact I have shown up after several of the attacks, I would merely think it the Prophet was making them up!"

"But the point is, they aren't!" Altra put in, a scowl gracing her pale face, her hands flexing furiously. "They aren't making them up! They really do exist, they really are defeating Death Eaters, and they really have stopped more than one-attempted massacres! And look what they've done for the Muggles! If it weren't for all the tied up bodies at each of the sites and the Dark Mark, it would be very hard to really believe anything had happened!"

"Exactly!" Kingsley roared. "Exactly my point! What if nothing is happening! It could all be part of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's plan! To create these false battles, and leave decoy Death Eaters behind!"

"But what evidence is there to that? What is the point to doing that?"

"He's He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! He doesn't need points or reasons to do stupid, evil things! Look at Harry Potter! What was the point to attacking his family?"

Dumbledore bit down on his tongue hard, his head jerking up to where Kingsley Shacklebolt and Altra where standing.

"He has got a point…" Elphias Doge murmured, and several of the Order members around him nodded.

"Alright! All right! Maybe your right!" Hestia Jones said sourly, tugging on the sleeve to Miss Prova's robes.

"Sit down!" She hissed worriedly, and Altra fell into her chair, several wisps of hair falling into her eyes.

"But," Emmeline supplied. "That doesn't change the fact that they are leaving Death Eaters for us!"

It was a peaceful five minutes as the occupants of the dining room to Number 12, Grimmauld Place sat silently, each of their minds pondering the subject at hand, but at last, Minerva McGonagall spoke quietly, her hands jumping to the tin of biscuits she had brought along to snack upon.

"I really don't… like this."

Mr. Weasley sighed, his right hand twining with that of his wife's, his other pulling at his thinning hair.

"I don't think anyone does."

"Well, believe what you will! I think it's wonderful!" Altra said firmly, her nimble arms crossing over each other.

Dumbledore eyed her warily. There was something about Snape's companion he didn't like. He honestly didn't believe she was whom she said, and the fact she had randomly showed up one night in the Potion Master's quarters was a little alarming. She said she was Italian, though her accent was that not of a person from Italy, and her spelling and grammar were perfectly English. Albus had caught her more than once in Sirius' bedroom, either sitting on the bed or leaning against his window, silent tears streaming down her face, several times standing in front of the Black Family Tapestry, her fingers tracing the gold threaded lines, muttering quietly to herself, and in the library, scanning books carefully, her lips pursed. She seemed to know quite a lot about Voldemort's inside group, which no one else, not even Severus, knew anything about. But most worrisome of all was her relationship with Buckbeak. Buckbeak was a very picky hippogriff, only letting a few wizards and witches come near. He seemed to have a lot of trust in the Black Family, and every one of the Order members that was a Black, or had been, was allowed near. The only other people he did let come close were Harry Potter, Hagrid, and occasionally, Hermione. But now… now he let Altra Prova nuzzle him, play with him, ride him, and even clean him, a task Hagrid had never been able to accomplish. It greatly unnerved Albus, who could not get near the hippogriff himself. Yes, there was something strange about Altra Prova… if that really was her real name.

Charlie spoke next, his fingers drumming the wooden table his voice traveling across the room easily, though he spoke softly.

"No normal wizard or witch could accomplish this task they are so easily accomplishing. No one should be able to be that powerful. No one is that powerful! We all know what happens when power goes to one's head… this could easily take a turn for the worse."

"If it their intent isn't already bad…" Bill put in slowly, his eyes dark, his fingers running through his auburn hair, and fingering his earring absentmindedly.

"But where's the proof of that!" Emmeline hissed, a scowl adorning her thin face. "Where is the proof of that?"

Mr. Weasley sighed, leaning back into his chair, and Lupin said hoarsely, "We don't have any…"

"Exactly!" Miss Prova jumped on the sentence, her hair even more disarrayed than before. "Exactly! We have no proof that what they are doing is wrong! We have no proof that what they are doing isn't right! Don't you see?"

"What," Bill put in dryly, "That this isn't right, because we certainly do see that!"

"Or perhaps that we are missing something else!" Charlie exclaimed sarcastically, shaking his head sourly.

Neither of the eldest Weasley boys had taken a liking to Altra Prova. Dumbledore knew that they were most likely just as suspicious of her as he was. Anyway, who really would want to spend that much time with the Potion Master?

With a pop, a good feeling the room had managed to keep for so long, disappeared.

"Boys…" Mr. Weasley warned quickly.

"No." Altra hissed. "Let them say what they want… they are members to. So, boys, what is going on?"

"You have no proof!"

"Do you not understand?"

"They're evil!"

"How are they good?"

"They even kill!"

"I don't like it!"

"Let me deal with it Molly…"

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

At the same time, Bill and Charlie Weasley, Dedalus Diggle, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Elphias Doge, Severus Snape, Arthur Weasley, and Alastor Moody spoke, each jumping to their feet.

"……"

"……"

"……"

It was a precious moment of silence, and Dumbledore seriously realized how precious it was, moments later. In fact, if he had known what was to follow, he would have left the room, savoring that moment of silence. But alas, he had no way to see into the future, and was left excepting things as they came. For, as the moment passed, nine very, very, very angry women leapt to their feet, towering over their companions, and Fred and George joined in happily.

"Bill! Vous idiot! Pourquoi ne pouvez pas vous ouvrez votre…"

"Oh yes, you idiot, bill!"

"CHARLIE WEASLEY! WHEN WILL YOU LEARN…"

"CHARLIE, WE ALWAYS TOLD YOU!"

"MR. DIGGLE, WILL YOU PLEASE TAKE HOLD OF YOUR TOP HAT…"

"IT DOES GET RATHER ANNOYING, YOU KNOW…"

"KINGSLEY SHACKLEBOLT! I HONESTLY DON'T KNOW HOW I'VE WORKED WITH YOU FOR SO MANY YEARS! AND LUPIN, STOP PLAYING WITH ME! WE'RE IN A MEETING FOR MERLIN'S SAKES!"

"LUPIN… NO COMMENT…"

"ELPHIAS! PLEASE, SHUT UP WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

"AND YOUR WHEEZY VOICE… PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT!"

"SEVERUS SNAPE! YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE THEY ARE HELPING MORE THAN YOU ARE!"

"YES, SEVVIE, PLEASE KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!"

"DON'T YOU MOLLY ME!"

"OUCH… GOOD LUCK DAD!"

"ALASTOR MOODY! YOU MAKE ME MAD…."

"WELL, PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL, THAT ISN'T A TASK THAT IS TOO HARD TO ACCOMPLISH…"

"IT IS WE!"

"USSSSSS!"

"WEEEEEEEE!"

"USSSSSS!"

"petit esprit pour un changement ! Vous si idiot…"

"WWWWWEEEEEEEE!"

"Do you ever consider…"

"UUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

"YOU HAVE TERRIBLE NERVES…"

"WEEEEEEEEE!"

"They Kill for a reason! Bellatrix Lestrange, for one! She deserved to die!"

"UUUUUSSSSSS!"

"REMUS LUPIN… I LOVE YOU TOO!"

_Silence…_

_Silence…_

_Silence…_

"WWWWWWWEEEEEEEEE!"

"SEVERUS… PLEASE!"

"UUUUUSSSSSS!"

"ARTHUR, JUST LET ME DEAL WITH IT……"

"WWWWWWWEEEEEEE!"

"NEVER, NEVER, NEVER AGAIN! I SWEAR, I'LL TURN YOU INTO A DODO BIRD!"

"UUUUUSSSSSS!"

"WWWWWWEEEEEEEE!"

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the Headmaster to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry leaned back in his chair and buried his face in his hands.

It was going to be a very long meeting.

A/N

I know, I know, it was different! Not a normal chapter from me. I actually completely redid this chapter, then decided it didn't make any sense, and stuck this one up. I actually don't like the swearing Dumbledore………..so that was really hard to put in. As you (hopefully) noticed, I have skipped several months in the story…simply because I had nothing to put in the chapters then. Also because I got the phrase "It was going to be a very long meeting" stuck in my head, and I needed to write it down.

**Hey! If you want to be on my email list, please say so in your review! (Don't forget to include your email in it!) I'll send you guys the challenges (and stop posting them here, like the one below), ask your opinion for parts of my story, ask for help for character names, tell you when I've finished a chapter and when I will be updating, and other such stuff. It's sort of lame idea, but I think it would be nice to have your opinions! Anyway, I always thought it was kind of cool to see your work in someone else's story. I dunno…………..it's your choice! **

Happy Chapter Ten!

Well, I need some help with chapter ten. I'm going to need……………..I don't know, quite a few newspaper articles…and some scenes from a dream. I only have several preferences:

For the dream:

Sirius must be present during sometime of the dream! The scene must have happened, somewhere in the past.

Other characters, such as Lily, James, Remus, Harry, or any others, may be present!

Voldemort cannot be present. (So, it can't be Harry's dream about his parent's dieing, with Sirius turning up at the very end)

Please make it as original as possible!

Sirius must do something odd, or out of character. Basically, something that will make the dreaming character wonder when she/he wakes up.

I have chosen the character already; you just have to do the dream!

Does that make sense?

For the Daily Prophet Newspaper Article:

Feel free to go wild!

It has to have some reference to either the Dark Angels, a recent Voldemort attack, the Order of the Phoenix, problems at/with the M.O.M., Harry Potter, or, uh, any other thing! I mean, I don't want an article about the latest Fred and George invention (although an advertisement about the, "Grammar Correct Pill" would be funny. Sorry, that's a stupid idea. I was just thinking about the We/Us argument), though the article may have advertisements, but more along the lines of something a tad bit more serious.

It can either be truthful, or a big slab of baloney by Rita Skeeter.

Both entries must be within reasonable size. Nothing over 1,000 words…nothing over a page, actually! Less than 500 would be preferred. Ginny will have a series of short clips of dreams; so more than one entry will be selected for that. There can only be one news article, though if you have a catchy advertisement or title, it may be included somehow. PLEASE, ONLY ONE SUBMISSION PER TOPIC (so at maximum two submissions per reviewer) I may just take a bit of your article, so please do not be upset if the entire thing is not on the page.

Uh, I hope that covers everything!

More questions, comments, or your entries may be sent do not include your entry in a review, but questions/comments can be posted there. Please include your email with your article, so I will have some way to contact you.

Thank you,

Lily

By the way, if you need something to ponder on, consider the following:

Altra Prova

_To those who did offer to beta, I apologize for not getting back to you. I'm sorry it didn't work out this time. However, I think I might have several more contests where I will send chapters out to those who would like to give a shot at being a beta. Thank you for offering!_


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